16 Derby hopefuls under consideration for Spiral

16 Derby hopefuls under consideration for Spiral

"The Battaglia would have been four races in 2 1/2 months, so that would have

made the Spiral five races in about three months," the trainer explained. "I

wanted to give him a little break. 

"We breezed him twice since the 96ROCK. The second breeze, last Friday, he

went in company. The other horse broke off in front and then Mac the Man caught

him about the eighth-pole and drew off. The other horse was trying to win, but I

told the rider, 'If your horse beats Mac the Man, just keep on riding.'

"That was his last breeze before the Spiral, but he gallops a mile and a half

and jogs a mile every day, so he's fit and ready."

Mac the Man went five furlongs in 1:02 2/5 for the breeze on Friday at

Turfway, tying for the second fastest of 11 at the distance.

Norberto Arroyo Jr., top rider for the holiday meet and currently the

winter/spring meet leader, was aboard for Mac the Man's last three races -- all

wins -- and will have the mount on Saturday. Greenhill trains Mac the Man for

his wife, Sherri Greenhill. The colt is stabled at Turfway.

McPeek always figured to have a strong hand for the Spiral. He still does,

though his Spiral representative has changed during the course of the past

couple of weeks.

Frac Daddy was originally slated to contest the Spiral, but the Grade 2

Kentucky Jockey Club runner-up has been battling an ulcer, so McPeek will

reroute the son of Scat Daddy to the Grade 1 Florida Derby to give him an extra

week to recuperate. 

The McPeek barn has a more than adequate substitute, though, in Taken by the

Storm, an allowance winner on the grass last out at Gulfstream Park March 9.

Taken by the Storm has already won at the Spiral distance of 1 1/8 miles, taking

a maiden special on the Keeneland grass October 27. He also was first in an

October 7 maiden over Keeneland's Polytrack but was disqualified to second.

"Frac Daddy's slight ulcer that we're dealing with is 90 percent there, but

it's not all the way there, so we made the decision to wait the extra week,"

McPeek revealed. "Taken by the Storm is coming off a nice win, and it is

fortuitous that we can bring him back quickly for the Spiral."

Alan Garcia, winner of the 2011 Spiral aboard Animal Kingdom, will have the

riding assignment on Taken by the Storm. Garcia rode Taken by the Storm for the

first time in the March 9 allowance tally at Gulfstream. 

Taken by the Storm is 11th on the probables list with $73,385 in earnings.

McPeek also intends to run Pure Fun in the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks on the

Spiral undercard. Both McPeek horses will fly to Lexington, Kentucky, Thursday

and stable at Keeneland before vanning to Turfway Saturday morning. 

While Mac the Man skipped the Battaglia Memorial on March 2, Giant

Finish made his first foray into open company in that race. The New York-bred

son of Frost Giant rewarded trainer Tony Dutrow's confidence with a strong

second-place finish despite breaking from the far outside in the 11-horse field

and dealing with a rapid early pace. 

"I was very happy and a little surprised that he ran so well in the Battaglia

given that he is still so mentally immature," Dutrow said. "He's a young

horse. He's learning and improving. I don't know what we're going to see on

Saturday. I'm thinking we will see better horses in against him. I'm just

anxious to see if he'll improve."

Dutrow's confidence is buoyed by his experience to date with offspring of the

young sire Frost Giant.

"I have a handful of them," he said. "Some have performed well as

two-year-olds,

but it's always been my opinion that they're going to be better as three-year-olds."

The Southern California-based Victor Espinoza will ride Giant Finish for the

first time on Saturday.

Giant Finish currently stands 10th on the Spiral Stakes list by virtue of career

earnings of $81,900. Stabled at Keeneland, he will van to Turfway on the

morning of the Spiral and be saddled by Mark Hubley, a longtime friend of

Dutrow's from their days competing against each other at Delaware Park. 

Gorder believed that two subpar performances at Fair Grounds did

not tell the truth about General Election, and the colt proved him right in the

Battaglia Memorial, closing to win by a half-length over Giant Finish and For

Greater Glory, both also on track for the Spiral Stakes.

"He didn't like the surface at Fair Grounds, but he's already won on dirt, and

he's already won at Churchill. He broke his maiden at Churchill, and he trained

there last summer. And then he won the Battaglia on the Polytrack," Gorder said. "He

came out of the Battaglia in really good shape. We gave him an easy breeze

Saturday at Keeneland (four furlongs in :51 4/5), and we're looking forward to

the race on Saturday."

Gorder believes as well in his jockey, Albin Jimenez, who was aboard for the

Battaglia and will be back up Saturday. Jimenez is currently second in the Turfway standings behind

Arroyo.

"Albin rode the horse really well," Gorder said. "He's an up-and-coming

rider. I was telling someone the other day, this is a kid you're going to hear

about in the future."

The Spiral Stakes is the 10th of 12 races carded Saturday. The race offers 50

Kentucky Derby points to the winner, 20 to the runner-up, 10 for third, and five

for fourth. First post Saturday is 1:10 p.m. (EDT).

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