Wertheimer and Frere's homebred Spinoff scored his first stakes win in the $82,450 Alydar Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, where he outran Endorsed and Bodexpress to post a 2 3/4-length victory Aug. 9.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Hard Spun colt started in last year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) after finishing second behind By My Standards in the Twinspires.com Lousiana Derby (G2).
Spinoff did not show the same form in the two sophomore classics, however, and Pletcher moved him to the turf, where he fared no better in the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), finishing off the board.
In late summer, he won an allowance optional claiming race at the Alydar distance of 1 1/8 miles over grade 1-placed Lone Sailor at Saratoga, but in three starts since he had not won, though he did finish second in the May 17 Sunday Silence Stakes, missing by a neck at Gulfstream Park.
"It's rewarding," Pletcher said of the Alydar win. "He's a horse we always had high hopes for. We placed him pretty ambitiously. He's always been right on the verge of breaking through, so hopefully as a 4-year-old maybe he can take it to the next level."
Spinoff rated behind pacesetter Its All Relevant and Bodexpress, who stalked on the outside. Its All Relevant set early fractions of :24.97 and :49.57 through a half-mile, but as the field reached the halfway point on the turn for home, Irad Ortiz Jr. guided Spinoff to the lead.
The pair continued to put distance between themselves and the field, with Endorsed giving chase and Bodexpress, who had an unusually uneventful race, finishing third. Fourth-place Backsideofthemoon was never a factor, and Its All Relevant faded to last. Spinoff finished the distance in 1:49.60 on a fast track.
"My horse ran a great race today," Ortiz said. "Last time, he got in a little trouble. He relaxed so well today, and the race set up for him. In the turn, he relaxed in the clear, and when I asked him to go, I got plenty from him."
Spinoff came into the Alydar off a seventh-place finish in a July 2 allowance optional claiming race going one mile at Belmont Park.
"He ran really well here last year in a mile-and-an-eighth two-other-than and had a pretty rough trip last time, and I think he ran better than it looked on paper," Pletcher said. "We had good spacing to this, and we had been pointing to it for a while. He's trained well, and I thought we were going to get a good setup. The race kind of unfolded exactly how Irad and I talked about before the race, and it's nice when it falls into place."
Spinoff brought his record to 4-2-1 in 12 starts and bumped his earnings to $421,600. He is the first stakes winner from four foals to race out of the Gone West mare Zaftig, who won the 2008 Acorn Stakes (G1).
