Acoma and Milwaukee Appeal hooked up circling the Spinster field (Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Helen C. Alexander and Helen K. Groves' homebred ACOMA (Empire Maker) held off the game run of Milwaukee Appeal (Milwaukee Brew) to take Sunday's $500,000 Spinster S. (G1) at Keeneland. The pair hooked up in the stretch, but Acoma refused to be beat, crossing under the wire a half-length in front of her rival while finishing up the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack test in 1:48 3/5.

Rinterval (Ire) (Desert Prince [Ire]) and Tizaqueena (Tiznow) led the field on the backstretch, with the former setting fractions of :23 4/5 and :47 1/5 while Tizaqueena stuck her head in front through three-quarters in 1:11 2/5. Acoma was biding her time in midpack under jockey Alan Garcia before taking off after the leaders four wide and gaining command in the stretch through 1:35 4/5. Milwaukee Appeal was just uncorking her own run after tracking in third on the outside, and the two battled it out down the lane. Acoma rebuffed her opponent's bid, though, to score as the 23-1 longest shot on the board.

"Possibly this could be her last race," trainer David Carroll said. "She's been a great filly for us. This is her first Grade 1 (win) and my first Grade 1 (win)."

The bay mare rewarded her faithful followers with payouts of $49.60, $23.40 and $11.80, and keyed lucrative exotics worth $550.60 (exacta), $3,107.40 (trifecta) and $16,127.20 (11-6-8-1 superfecta). Milwaukee Appeal gave back $15.20 and $7.60 as the 16-1 second longest shot, and it was another 2 3/4 lengths back to Hot Cha Cha (Cactus Ridge), who returned $2.80 as the 5-2 favorite.

Acoma would not allow Milwaukee Appeal to pass in the Spinster (Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Acoma earned her seventh stakes score in the Spinster, having already captured the 2008 editions of the Mrs. Revere S. (G2), Valley View S. (G3) and Dogwood S. (G3) as well as last year's Azeri S. (G3), Cardinal H. (G3) and Mint Julep H. (G3). The five-year-old also owns placings in the Monmouth Oaks (G3), Apple Blossom H. (G1) and, from earlier this season, the Mint Julep. She was exiting a seventh in the Beverly D. S. (G1) at Arlington Park and was fourth by just a half-length in the Locust Grove H. (G3) prior to to that one.

The versatile mare, who has now won graded races on dirt, synthetic and turf, improved her career line to 18-9-2-2. The winner's share boosted her earnings past the million mark, to $1,000,898.

The Kentucky-bred Acoma is out of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Aurora (Danzig), who has also produced Grade 1 winner Arch (Kris S.) and U.A.E. Horse of the Year Festival of Light (A.P. Indy), both sires. Aurora is herself a full sister to Japanese champion filly Yamanin Paradise (Danzig).