Spun to Run gets post-Cigar Mile break; 'he'll come back stronger'

Robert P. Donaldson's 3-year-old Spun to Run came out his runner-up effort in Saturday's Grade 1 Cigar Mile tired but in good order, trainer Juan Guerrero said.

The desire to sleep in was understandable as Spun to Run challenged Maximum Security for the entire race. The sophomores sat 1-2 through every point of call before Maximum Security powered to the wire for a 3 ½-length victory.

Spun to Run, coming off a 2 ½-length score in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita, garnered a 105 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, marking his third consecutive triple-digit number following his 109 in the Dirt Mile and a personal-best 110 for his win in the M.P. Ballezzi Appreciation Mile on October 12 at Parx.

'He was a little tired but he came back good," Guerrero said. "It was very exciting. My horse tries so hard. But Maximum Security is just a beast. Once he gets to the front like that, he doesn't like to get beat. My horse, he likes to run, too. We ran after them.

"He came back good. The track was heavier than I expected. I thought it'd be heavy, but not as heavy as it was. But he did everything he good. He's a professional racehorse. He loves his job. He doesn't act up. He makes it easy. I like to let him have fun out there and he's just a great horse."

Spun to Run, who debuted in October of 2018, has compiled a 5-2-3 record and earnings of more than $1.6 million in 12 starts. The Hard Spun sophomore colt has raced five times since the beginning of September, starting with a win in the Smarty Jones (G3) at Parx. He twice finished in the money in races won by Maximum Security, including a third-place effort in the Haskell Invitational (G1) in July at Monmouth Park.

That heavy workload has Guerrero looking to give Spun to Run time off before he commences a 4-year-old campaign.

"He came back good, but I think he really needs a break," the trainer said. "I'm trying to decide if I should send him to the farm and give him some time off or just keep him at the track and just keep him happy. I'm going to talk to my owner and decide what to do."

Guerrero said the travel, including a cross-country trip for the Breeders' Cup, as well as earning black type in stakes held at four different states, has necessitated a break for the Kentucky bred.

"My horse has been running so hard the last five races, and earning triple-digit Beyers, and we've been running hard," he added. "I think with a bit of a break, he'll come back stronger. I'll try and keep his races a little further apart this year and I think he'll even be a better horse and have a better year. We had a great year in [2019], but he came back every 20, 25 days, and you don't see that too often with stakes horses. He held his races together like that, and that's amazing to me."