[Kasept]

Two fillies seek rare feat
By Marty McGee

If either Untapable or Lovely Maria wins the Spinster on Sunday, she will become the seventh Kentucky Oaks winner to capture the Spinster and the first since Keeper Hill, who won the Spinster at age 4 in 1999. The previous Oaks-Spinster winners were Dispute, Princess Rooney, Bold ‘n Determined, Optimistic Gal, and Susan’s Girl.

At the same time, Lovely Maria could become just the fifth filly to win the Ashland and Spinster in the same year, following Doubledogdare (1956), Optimistic Gal (1976), Take Charge Lady (2002), and Emollient (2013).

Both fillies will be looking to recapture some lost luster when they face seven other fillies and mares in the $500,000 Spinster, which anchors a 10-race card and will be televised live on a one-hour program (5-6 p.m. Eastern) on NBC. The Spinster is a Win and You’re In event toward the Oct. 30 Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Untapable, 4, has won just once in five starts since she capped a championship season by winning the BC Distaff last fall for owner and breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds. Lovely Maria has finished off the board in two starts since she won the Oaks in May for former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones.

Winchell racing manager David Fiske said he and trainer Steve Asmussen are expecting a big effort Sunday from Untapable, who will break from post 3 in the 1 1/8-mile Spinster. “From all indications, she’s the same filly she’s always been,” said Fiske. “She’s doing great. Her attitude is about half nasty, and she’s sound. We’re expecting her to show up.”

Lovely Maria (post 1, Kerwin Clark to ride), the only 3-year-old in the Spinster field, ran fifth in the Delaware Oaks and sixth in the Alabama, although trainer Larry Jones cautioned: “Sometimes what is on the past performances don’t tell the whole story.” Jones said Lovely Maria might have been compromised by a virus that went through his barn prior to the July 11 Delaware Oaks, and that the 1 1/4-mile distance of the Aug. 22 Alabama “just might have been a little too far.”

Untapable (post 3, John Velazquez) has been pegged as the 9-5 morning-line favorite, with Lovely Maria the 7-2 co-second choice with Got Lucky (post 4, Irad Ortiz Jr.). All three fillies are expected to remain at Keeneland following the Spinster to train for the Breeders’ Cup.

The last time Oaks winners raced against each other was in the Louisville Breeders’ Cup on the 2000 Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs. Silverbulletday (1999 Oaks winner) was fourth, and Keeper Hill (1998 winner) was fifth behind the victorious Heritage of Gold.