By Stefanie Grimm
It was always billed as a potential match race in Saratoga's closing weekend feature for the 2-year-old fillies. And so it came down to GIII Adirondack winner Brightwork (Outwork) and 'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke) in a stretch duel. In the end, experience won out and Brightwork kept her perfect record intact with a gusty effort to win Sunday's GI Spinaway S.
A flashy maiden winner at Keeneland over G2 Queen Mary S. winner Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), Brightwork earned her next win in stakes company with a half-length score in Ellis's Debutante S. July 2. She immediately moved up into graded-stakes company at Saratoga and was a no-doubt winner in a five-length roll to take the GIII Adironack S. Aug. 6. Drawn outside of her main rival in Sunday's contest, the 3-1 chance raced just ahead of Ways and Means up the backstretch with the pair coming into tight quarters as Flavian Prat had to check his filly back off of heels to avoid disaster. Sugar Hi (Twirling Candy) had a clear trip to the lead from an inside gate and led the compact group alongside Lemorian (Coal Front) through a quarter in :22.40. Brightwork stayed outside of that pair but was quickly joined by Ways and Means as the fillies went four across the track midway around the far turn as the half ticked by in a brisk :45.09. The top two wagering choices hit the quarter pole together but Brightwork always seemed to have the measure of the 1-2 favorite, turning back her challenge to pull out the win.
“There are really no words to describe it,” said winning owner Bill Simon of WSS Racing. “I'm so proud of Johnny and what he's done with the horse; Jared [Hughes], who picked her out; Daniel Ortiz, Johnny's brother, has been living up here with Brightwork for the summer and they deserve all the credit. It's just a phenomenal feeling. There were some great horses in this race trained by some great trainers, and we won. It's really special.”
“The horse beside me [No. 10, Lemorian], last time she broke from the one-hole at Indiana but she outbreak everybody and I know she's going to be quick,” added Irad Ortiz, Jr. “So, I say, maybe I let her go and stalk there and maybe I can bide my time and I know the horse I have to beat is the horse inside of me [Ways and Means]. That's what I tried to do and it worked out perfect.”
Pedigree Note:
Brightwork becomes the second-straight daughter of WinStar stallion Outwork to take the Spinaway following Leave No Trace's victory last year. She is out of a half-sister to several stakes winners but most notably to the dam of GSW/MGISP Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and GISW and successful young sire Girvin (Tale of Ekati). Clarendon Fancy saw her yearling Volatile filly bring $285,000 at last month's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale and she reported a Yaupon filly this spring.
#9 Brightwork stays undefeated and takes the G1 Spinaway S. under @iradortiz for trainer @johnnyortiz24! 🏆💡
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/h62zAp6ZBi
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) September 3, 2023
Sunday, Saratoga
SPINAWAY S.-GI, $300,000, Saratoga, 9-3, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:23.17, ft.
1–BRIGHTWORK, 122, f, 2, by Outwork
1st Dam: Clarendon Fancy, by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Catch My Fancy, by Yes It's True
3rd Dam: Walk Away Rene, by Gold Alert
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($95,000 Wlg '21 FTKNOV). O-WSS Racing,
LLC; B-Wynnstay Inc. & H. Allen Poindexter (KY); T-John
Alexander Ortiz; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $165,000. Lifetime Record:
4-4-0-0, $444,051. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ways and Means, 120, f, 2, by Practical Joke
1st Dam: Strong Incentive (SW, $123,568),
by Warrior's Reward
2nd Dam: G G's Dolly, by Comic Strip
3rd Dam: Parfait, by Kingmambo
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK
TYPE. 'TDN Rising Star' O/B-Klaravich Stables (KY); T-Chad C.
Brown. $60,000.
3–Wonder Ride, 120, f, 2, by Gun Runner
1st Dam: Wonderment (GSW, $394,870),
by Cosmonaut
2nd Dam: A Wonder She Is, by Three Wonders
3rd Dam: Video Devil, by Devil's Bag
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK
TYPE. O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC; B-Walking L
Thoroughbreds LLC & Fest Miles (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek.
$36,000.
Margins: HF, 6 1/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 3.00, 0.45, 31.75.
Also Ran: Alys Beach, Closing Act, Sugar Hi, Lady Moscato, Lemorian, Miz Sense. Scratched: Becky's Joker.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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