Thirteen to line up in Spinster

Thirteen fillies and mares passed the entry box Thursday morning for

Sunday's 56th edition of the Grade 1, $500,000

Spinster to be run at 1 1/8 miles on the Keeneland Polytrack. The

Spinster will award the winner a berth in the starting gate for the

Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic as a "Win and You're In" race.

Embur's Song, queen of the Grade 3 Doubledogdare over the local

synthetic in the spring, will make her Grade 1 debut for trainer Todd

Pletcher in the Spinster. Undefeated in two starts at Keeneland, the bay

four-year-old followed her Doubledogdare win with victories in a pair of

Canadian Grade 3s -- the Hendrie and Ontario Matron -- as well as a

score in the Windward Stakes on Presque Isle Downs' synthetic Tapeta.

Embur's Song had a four-race win streak broken last out when a close

second in the Canadian Grade 3 Seaway and will get a jockey switch to

Jesus Castanon for this one.

Two other Spinster entrants -- La Gran Bailadora and Pachattack --

have graded stakes victories on all-weather surfaces.

Pachattack was a six-length winner of the Grade 3 Arlington Matron over La

Gran Bailadora, and in her most recent start finished second in the Grade 1

Personal Ensign at Saratoga. The Gerard Butler charge, who will have Rajiv

Maragh aboard, has never raced at Keeneland but her all-weather record reads

6-2-1-2.

While the previous three all hold a shot at Spinster glory based on synthetic

experience, a number of talented turf competitors are throwing their hats in the

mix. The most notable of those is Aruna, who rallied late in the Grade 1 Diana

Stakes on July 30 at Saratoga to just miss by 1 1/2 lengths on the wire

following a nice win in the Grade 3 All Along one month earlier. The Graham

Motion pupil also ran second in the Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile earlier

in the season and will be tough is she transfers her grass form to the Polytrack

under Ramon Dominguez.

Stars to Shine has spent most of her career on the Woodbine turf except for

two Polytrack victories at that track over the past two seasons. The most recent

of those came in the Belle Mahone, which turned out to be the Mark Frostad

runner's first stakes win, on August 20. The dark bay four-year-old brings

William Buick along for the ride.