Sweet Reason continues love affair with slop in Spinaway

Treadway Racing Stable's Sweet Reason romped by 6 1/4 lengths over a sloppy,

sealed track at Saratoga on August 9 and was looking to prove her abilities on a

faster surface Sunday in the Grade 1, $300,000

Spinaway

at the Spa. Thunderstorms put paid to that idea, though, as the track once again

came up mucky and the Street Sense filly sailed home an easy winner.

Bahnah dead-heated for the win in the July 9 Schuylerville at Saratoga with

Brazen Persuasion and was determined to be alone in the winner's circle this

time around. The bay miss set the pace through fractions of :22 2/5 and :45 3/5,

but was unable to shake loose from her rivals as Art of the Game was the first

to apply pressure, swiftly followed by Sweet Whiskey and Stopchargingmaria.

All the while, Alex Solis allowed Sweet Reason to lope along near the rear

while wide. He hit the button rounding the turn and the bay miss took off,

circling five wide to easily gain control entering the stretch. She merely drew

off from there, finishing seven furlongs in 1:23 2/5 for trainer Leah Gyarmati

while 5 3/4 lengths clear on the wire.

"She was just doing her thing. She's so special," Solis praised his

mount. "The other morning when I worked

her, two horses broke off six lengths in front of her and by the

three-sixteenths pole,

she had caught them and blew by them. That's what she does.

"She is just having

fun. She runs like she has done it her whole life. She won easily. At the

half-mile pole, she switched leads and I just let her do her own thing. At the

quarter-pole, she took the lead and I just kept on her a little bit to keep her

occupied. She is very special."

"It

was spectacular!" Gyarmati enthused. "Obviously, she ran impressively first time

out when she won, but it was an off-the-turf race and the competition wasn't

anywhere near what she faced today. So, this is thrilling to do what she did

against horses that have proven they are very, very nice horses.

"I was not confident enough to say I should be 8-5, but I thought she would run

very well," the conditioner added. "I knew she would come running at the end; I

just didn't know where that would put us.

"She trains very well on a dry track. I'm sort of anxious to see how that

translates into what she does in the afternoon on a dry track. But that's OK,

this is good enough for me for now. I can live with this for a while."

Sweet Reason, the 5-2 second choice in the Spinaway who paid $7 to win, gave Gyarmati her first Grade 1

triumph as a trainer.

"Obviously, it's very, very exciting, and it

couldn't happen to a better owner," Gyarmati remarked. "Jeff Treadway has tons of patience. He's done

all the right things as an owner. He's always done the right things for his

horses, and it paid off."

Stopchargingmaria proved best-of-the-rest, 4 3/4 lengths ahead of Dancing

House in third. Sweet Whiskey, the 9-5 favorite, filled out the fourth spot

while followed under the wire by Designer Legs, Bahnah, True Blue Nation and Art

of the Game.

"I

thought both fillies ran well," trainer Todd Pletcher said of Stopchargingmaria

and Sweet Whiskey. "It's a peculiar track, and both of them were

trying an off track for the first time. I thought Sweet Whiskey probably didn't

relish the going, but she kept trying to the end.

"Stopchargingmaria, I think, was second best on the day. The winner was

very good, but I was pleased with (Stopchargingmaria's) effort.

She galloped out well. We'll look forward to the (Grade 1) Frizette (on October 5

at

Belmont Park)."

Brazen Persuasion dug her feet in when the gates opened at the start and

refused to go despite encouragement from jockey Rosie Napravnik. The juvenile

filly eventually

walked off the track.

Sweet Reason is now two-for-two after taking her off-the-turf debut last

month. Bred in Kentucky by Brent and Beth Harris and Darley, the filly sold to

her current connections for $185,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The

$180,000 winner's share of the Spinaway purse -- which combined with her maiden

score brings her bankroll $237,600 -- shows the bay lass has more than earned that

back already.

Sweet Reason is out of the stakes-placed Mt. Livermore mare Livermore Leslie,

making her a half-sister to Grade 3 victress Don't Forget Gil. Livermore Leslie

is herself a half-sibling to Grade 3 hero Highland Gold as well as the

stakes-placed Fountain Square, who is the dam of Grade 2 winner Timber Reserve.

Farther back this female family also boasts Horse of the Year Moccasin as

well as champions Gamely and Ridan.

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