Style springs upset in Frankel

"Winning the race named for Frankel is significant," Cecil said. "Since I

came to California, he's the trainer I've had certainly the most respect for, so

it's great to win."

Owned by Cecil's wife Kristina in partnership with Zillah Reddam,

Spring Style was registering her first stakes credit after six unplaced

attempts. Her breakthrough was assisted by new rider Garrett Gomez, who

positioned her perfectly through a dawdling pace. Spring Style stalked

in second, lapped right onto the flank of 28-1 longshot Powerofvoodoo

(Unusual Heat), as the leader doled out fractions of :25 2/5, :51 1/5

and 1:16 on the firm turf. Go Forth North (North Light [Ire]) scraped

the paint in third, and Harmonious was reserved in fourth in the compact

field.

On the far turn, Harmonious began to advance, and the prohibitive favorite

appeared ready to swoop once straightening into the stretch. Just as Harmonious

dallied and gawked to her right, as though tempted to veer outside as she had

done in the Del Mar Oaks (G1), Spring Style was launching her well-timed

challenge. She mastered the tiring Powerofvoodoo with a minimum of fuss and

edged clear, building up enough of a cushion to withstand the belated rush of

Harmonious.

Spring Style toured 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf in 1:51 and returned $15.80

and $3.60. There was no show wagering.

"She can get a little lazy if she's up front on her own," Cecil noted, "so I

told Garrett, 'Just sit right off somebody if you can,' and he rode her perfect.

I did (think I won it) when I was sitting down, but as I walked down and watched

the head bob, I wasn't totally sure. It's huge. It makes her worth quite a bit

of money now. She's got a reasonable pedigree and Pivotal is the leading sire in

Europe."

"I thought she (Harmonious) made one run at me going to the three-eighths

pole," Gomez recapped. "When I first turned for home, I took another peek out

there, and she was having trouble getting to me. We went so slow, it's hard to

really come by a horse that's trying to finish. Even though she's a good

finisher, when you come home quick like we did, it's hard to pass horses. The

last three-eighth's of a mile we picked it up and came home really solid. It's

hard to make up ground when it's like that.

"I don't think she (Spring Style) has had softer fractions like that. She was

dictating what went on, and I felt like she was handling everything I wanted her

to throughout the race. My idea, when I looked at the Form, was that I was going

to put her on the lead. Ben (Cecil) didn't want her on the lead. So I just let

her break, and I left her on a long hold. She's not that fast anyway, but I

wasn't going to take something that was coming easy to her, and take it away

from her."

Harmonious gave back $2.10 after crossing

the wire 1 1/4 lengths ahead of the 5-2 Go Forth North. The $1 exacta was good

for $10.70, and the $1 trifecta totaled $17.80. Powerofvoodoo reported home

another five lengths back.

"No pace. They went too slow," lamented trainer John Shirreffs regarding

Harmonious' narrow defeat.

Spring Style's scorecard now stands at 16-5-1-2, $245,477. The six-year-old

mare raced once in England as a juvenile, finishing third in a Wolverhampton

maiden, and was sold the following month for $89,408 at the 2007 Tattersalls

December Sale. Thereafter joining Cecil, Spring Style had cleared her maiden and

entry-level allowance conditions by the end of 2008, but raced only twice in

2009, including a fifth in the La Canada S. (G2) in her stakes debut. Again

trying stakes company in 2010, she found life difficult at that level. Her best

result was a distant fourth to Zenyatta in the August 7 Clement L. Hirsch S.

(G1), in a six-horse field. Spring Style was freshened following a last-place

effort in the August 15 John C. Mabee S. (G2), returning to capture a November

19 allowance at Hollywood.

Bred by Frank Dunne in Ireland, Spring Style was produced by the Irish River

(Fr) mare Clear Spring. Her third dam, group stakes producer Tertiary (*Vaguely

Noble), is a full sister to Grade/Group 1 star Nobiliary, queen of the 1975

Washington D.C. International (G1). They are half-sisters to influential sire

and multiple French Group 1 hero Lyphard (Northern Dancer). Others of note in

the family include dual Australian classic winner Magical Miss (Danehill);

accomplished Japanese performer Seeking the Pearl (Seeking the Gold), who became

a French highweight by plundering the Prix Maurice de Gheest (Fr-G1); and Grade

1 scorers Another Review (Buckaroo), No Review (Nodouble) and Urbane (Citidancer),

the latter the dam of multiple Grade 2 victor Suave (A.P. Indy).