2024 Spinster Stakes Preview

The Juddmonte Spinster Stakes is the feature race on Sunday’s card at Keeneland. The Grade 1, $600,000 race, open to fillies and mares aged three and up, covers 1 ⅛ miles on the Keeneland main track. It offers the winner an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar on November 2.

Six fillies and mares are entered in the 2024 edition of the Spinster, including Idiomatic, who won this race last year. She used it as a prep to win the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and trainer Brad Cox brings her into this repeat bid as the best-proven horse in the division. The leaders among her foes include Grade 1 winner Candied and Grade 2 winner Honor D Lady.

The last two Breeders’ Cup Distaff winners have come out of victories in the Spinster: before Idiomatic came Malathaat in 2022. Others to sweep the double include Blue Prize (2019), Inside Information (1995), Bayakoa (1989, 1990), Sacahuista (1987), and the very first Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Princess Rooney (1984).

Spinster Stakes Information

• Race Date: Sunday, October 6
• Track: Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky
• Post Time: 5:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 1/8 miles on the dirt
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

2024 Spinster Stakes Draw and Odds

These are the six entrants for the 2024 Spinster, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each runner.

Spinster Stakes Prep Race Results

All six runners in the Spinster come out of different races.

Four of the horses come out of graded stakes. Two come out of narrow defeats in Grade 1 company: Idiomatic missed by a head to Raging Sea on August 23 in the Personal Ensign at Saratoga, while Candied missed by a head to Power Squeeze in the Alabama on August 17 at the Spa. Honor D Lady is the only last-out graded stakes winner, as she tracked the pace and drew off by 5 ½ lengths to win the Delaware Handicap on July 7. Loved tried Grade 2 company in the Locust Grove on September 14 at Churchill Downs; she chased toward the rear of a compact pack but did not kick on and finished sixth behind Musical Mischief.

The other two runners come out of allowance-level races. Occult was second beaten 1 ¼ lengths as the odds-on favorite in a dirt mile at Saratoga on July 26. Bow Draw was a well-beaten third, 7 ½ lengths adrift on September 13, going seven furlongs on the Churchill slop, in a race where she was up for the optional $100,000 tag.

2024 Spinster Stakes Contenders

This is the field for the 2024 Spinster, in order of each horse’s post position.

1. Idiomatic: Juddmonte Farms is not only the title sponsor of this race, but also has the defending champion and odds-on morning-line favorite with Idiomatic. Last year, she was able to bounce off to the lead and run clear at every call. That may be a bit tougher this year, since Loved and Bow Draw can show speed and Occult might as well. But, neither of those horses always shows speed, giving her a chance to wire it again—or even if someone else does go, Idiomatic is fast and versatile enough to stalk or even track and still get the job done. Yes, she has just missed in two of her last three, but this field isn’t quite as deep as that of the Ogden Phipps (G1) or even the top echelon of the Personal Ensign (G1). She is the horse to beat.
2. Candied: She is a 3-year-old filly facing older horses, but it won’t be her first time against such company: three starts back, she romped in the Lady’s Secret in a field that included Honor D Lady. This will be her toughest test yet, but she is a Grade 1 winner over this course in the Alcibiades (G1) last year, and she is versatile enough to find the right place to sit and make her run. She will need her best (or a misfire from the favorite) to win, but especially under aggressive rider Luis Saez, she looks like the next most likely winner.
3. Loved: It is feast or famine with this lightly-raced five-year-old: in eight starts she has four wins and four out-of-the money finishes. Unfortunately, three of those four off-the-board runs came in her three career graded-stakes tries. Perhaps the fact that this is a 1 ⅛-mile race may help, since she has won at 1 3/16 miles and all her graded-stakes tries to date have come going shorter than this. But, she will need a significant step forward (or a major speed bias) to be more than a pace factor who might hang on for a minor award.
4. Honor D Lady: This four-year-old scored the most important victory of her career last out in the Delaware Handicap, where she overcame a less-than-perfect break to track the pace and take over with dominance in the lane. However, the top end of this field is better than the top of that race. She would be no surprise to stalk and chase for a piece underneath no matter what, given the short and stratified nature of this field, but a win over both Idiomatic and Candied would be a surprise, especially first off a three-month lay.
5. Bow Draw: She has run off the board in all five of her career stakes tries to date, and never tried a graded race before. She has never run a race anywhere near fast enough to be a threat in this spot, and as a six-year-old with 23 starts, there is limited upside for her to leap forward. In short, she may be an early pace factor, but it would be a surprise to see her in the mix late.
6. Occult: She was a buzz horse last summer as a sophomore, after a ten-length score in the Monmouth Oaks (G3). However, she only mustered third in the Cotillion (G1) in her next start after being well bet, and she has yet to find the winners’ circle again after that Monmouth Oaks win over 14 months ago. She has not been out of the superfecta since, including in a few graded-stakes races. However, her furthest-beaten efforts have all come at 1 ⅛ miles, and she is likely better going a little shorter than this.

2024 Spinster Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Spinster?

A: The Spinster happens Sunday, September 6 at 5:16 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is the ninth of 10 on the card, and one of three stakes races Sunday at Keeneland.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Spinster?

A: Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with five victories in the Spinster, most recently with Malathaat in 2022. He can extend his record if Candied wins in 2024.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Spinster?

A: Defending champion Idiomatic is the 3-5 morning-line favorite for the Spinster. Even though she comes into the race off a narrow defeat, she still brings the strongest record into the race and has enough speed, stamina, and class to hold as the actual race favorite.

Q: Who is the best Spinster jockey?

A: Jockeys Pat Day and Laffit Pincay, Jr. lead all riders with five wins in the Spinster each. However, both are not retired. Among jockeys with a call in the 2024 edition of the Spinster, Florent Geroux and John Velazquez are tied for the lead with two apiece. Geroux can win his third with Idiomatic, while Velazquez can do so with Honor D Lady.

Q: Who won the Spinster in 2023?

A: Juddmonte Farms homebred Idiomatic won the Spinster in 2023 for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux, and parlayed that into Breeders’ Cup Distaff success. Idiomatic returns with the same connections this year.

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