Panty Raid holds off Lady Joanne in Spinster

Panty Raid re-rallying to take the Spinster (Mathea Kelley/Horsephotos.com) Glencrest Farm LLC's PANTY RAID (Include) just held rival Lady Joanne (Orientate) to take Sunday's $540,000 Spinster S. (G1) at Keeneland by a half-length. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the dark bay miss finished the 1 1/8-mile Polytrack test in 1:51 1/5 to earn a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), though her status is still uncertain and she could show up for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) instead. "We're not sure," Pletcher admitted when asked about the Breeders' Cup. "The filly will tell us if she wants to come back in 20 days. The other question is what surface to run on because she would fit in either the Filly & Mare Turf or the Distaff." When the gates opened, Lady Joanne and Sugar Shake (Awesome Again) immediately moved to the front, with the former posting fractions of :25 and :49 2/5 while just to the outside of Sugar Shake. When reaching the six-furlong mark, Sugar Shake managed to stick her head in front while clocking 1:14, but began fading as they rounded the turn. Lady Joanne moved toward the rail and appeared ready to go for her second straight Grade 1 win after taking the Alabama S. (G1), but found Panty Raid moving up on the outside.

As Garrett Gomez urged the eventual winner on, she passed Lady Joanne, then

started slowing up at the first finish pole, giving her rival a chance

to come back on her for a moment. When Gomez shook the reins at her again,

though, Panty Raid picked it back up and crossed under the line to add a third

graded score to her record.

"I told Garrett in the paddock, 'Make sure you ride to the second wire,'"

Pletcher said. "When we ran here in the spring, she ran to the first wire, a

mile and a sixteenth. He didn't tell her (to keep running to the second finish

line)."

It turned out that Gomez wasn't the only one who needed those orders.

"I told Todd that he forgot to tell the filly that we were going to the

second finish line," Gomez quipped. "When she made the lead,

she actually did it really easy. When I asked her to start running, she gave me

what she had, and when I got to the first finish line, she started spotting

the people and started drifting out and looking around a little bit. I got into her a few

times again, and she went ahead and did some more running."

Sent off the 3-1 second choice, Panty Raid paid $8.20, $4.40 and $3.40 while

starting the $31.40 exacta. Lady Joanne, who was a half-length up on Teammate

(A.P. Indy) at the line, was worth $3.60 and $2.80 as the near 5-2 favorite.

Teammate bumped with Panty Raid at the start, dropped back, but came on again

in the stretch to take third by 2 3/4 lengths, returning $6.80 at 12-1 and

ending the $284.60 trifecta. Sugar Shake held fourth to complete the $1,593.40

superfecta (2-8-1-3), and was followed by defending champion Asi Siempre (El

Prado [Ire]), who was making her final career start here and will now head to

the breeding shed. Altesse (A.P. Indy), Rolling Sea (Sefapiano), Naissance Royale

(Ire)

(Giant's Causeway), High Heels (E Dubai), Promenade Girl (Carson City) and Solo

Survivor (Pleasant Tap) finished the order under the wire.

Panty Raid captured the Black-Eyed Susan S. (G2) at Pimlico, then followed that up with a win in the grassy American Oaks

Invitational (G1) at Hollywood Park. Just missing when second by a head in the

Bourbonette Breeders' Cup S. (G3) earlier this season, she tired to fifth in the

Alabama last out against Lady Joanne, but more than made up for that one here,

moving her record to 8-5-1-0 and increasing her earnings to $1,020,275.

Bred by Heaven Trees Farm in Kentucky, the winner is out of the stakes-placed

Adventurous Di (Private Account), making her a half-sister to listed hero Franc

and a juvenile colt named Irish Mayhem, both by Woodman. Panty Raid sold twice,

going for $110,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July yearling before coming to her current

connections for $275,000 as a Keeneland April two-year-old.