By Joe Bianca
A diverse group of 12 sophomores, coming from all different directions, will hook up in the GIII JACK Cincinnati Casino Spiral S., with Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Kitten's Cat (Kitten's Joy) made a lukewarm morning-line favorite to give the couple a second straight Spiral crown.
Making his synthetic-track debut after seven grass outings, the homebred captured the Juvenile Turf Sprint on the Breeders' Cup undercard last fall and annexed the stake named for his sire Feb. 4 at Gulfstream before running a good second in the GIII Palm Beach S. last out Mar. 4. The Ramseys' Oscar Nominated (Kitten's Joy), pulled a 23-1 upset in last year's Spiral, and they also took home the hardware in 2010 and 2014.
Anderson Thoroughbreds' 'TDN Rising Star' Parlor (Lonhro {Aus}) is an intriguing prospect who also will try synthetic for the first time. The dark bay colt was a very impressive maiden winner last August on the Ellis Park turf and ran an unlucky second in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile, beaten just a neck after a troubled trip. Parlor made his seasonal debut with an easy allowance/optional claiming score Feb. 22 over the Tampa lawn, an effort that earned him the 'Rising Star' nod.
“He has plenty of ability and he's a little unlucky to not be undefeated,” trained Eddie Kenneally told the TDN earlier this week, adding, “He hasn't done anything wrong so far. We don't know who's going to love that track at Turfway, it's a different track for almost all of the horses that are running in there. He hasn't trained on [synthetic] at all, so it's a little bit of an unknown.”
Owner Brad Anderson commented to the Turfway notes team, “All three of his races have had very slow paces, and I don't think he's ever really gotten to run. I think he's sitting on a big race.”
Ashbrook Farm's progressive Convict Pike (Broken Vow) responded with aplomb to his first synthetic test, running a good second to G2 UAE Derby entrant Master Plan (Twirling Candy) in the OBS Championship S. Jan. 24 in Ocala. That was the Rusty Arnold trainee's initial try against winners, and he has drilled sharply since, most recently going a half-mile on the Palm Meadows dirt in :47 4/5 (2/23) Mar. 16.
Flaxman Holdings homebred Soglio (Scat Daddy) will try to give trainer Graham Motion his fourth career win in the Spiral. The 52-year-old trainer won the race in 2008, 2011 and 2012, with 2011 winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) going on to don roses as the GI Kentucky Derby winner later that spring. Soglio, second in the Eddie Logan S. at Santa Anita Dec. 30, closed into a slow pace to be third last out Feb. 5.
Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber's King and His Court (Court Vision), who captured the Coronation Futurity and Display S. in the fall at Woodbine, will look to rebound after running last of nine in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. in his sophomore debut Feb. 11 at Tampa. Kendall Hansen and Bode Miller's En Hanse (Hansen) is the only horse with multiple wins at Turfway, including a sharp score in the WEBN S. Feb. 11. The gray finished a distant second in the John Battaglia Memorial Mar. 4.
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