by Mike Curry

Carriage Trail shattered the track record at Keeneland Race Course on Saturday with a dominant 7 3/4-length victory in the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1).

Entering the Spinster, the five-year-old Giant’s Causeway mare had shown an affinity for the Polytrack surface at Keeneland with two wins in three starts, including her first graded stakes win in the Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) on April 18.

On Saturday on Keeneland’s synthetic surface, Carriage Trail turned in the most impressive performance of her career as she completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.77 despite drifting out badly through the stretch. She shaved more than a second off the previous record of 1:47.97, set by Go Between on October 27, 2007.

“She will drift out in her races a little bit,” said trainer Shug McGaughey, who trains Carriage Trail for owners-breeders Stuart S. Janney III and Phipps Stable. “I talked to [jockey] Kent [Desormeaux] about that in the paddock. Sometimes it might have cost her, but she was in front and there wasn’t any sense in fooling with her.”

Sharp Susan went to the lead in the Spinster and opened a clear advantage through an opening quarter in :23.72 and a half-mile in :47.42 with Jibboom and Rosinka (Ire) stalking from second and third, respectively.

Carriage Trail was positioned in fourth by Desormeaux while Grade 1 winner and 2.80-to-1 favorite Unbridled Belle raced in eighth in the ten-horse field.

Rosinka moved ahead on the turn to seize command from Sharp Susan, but Carriage Trail uncoiled her winning bid from four wide and rolled past Rosinka to take charge. Carriage Trail lengthened her advantage while drifting out and won easily to secure her first Grade 1 victory.

“I wasn’t going to hinder her by correcting her path,” Desormeaux said.  “I just let her drift, and she was happy and she was going fast.”

Runner-up Model was last with three furlongs remaining but closed gamely to finish 1 1/4 lengths clear of Rosinka, who held off fourth-place finisher Little Belle by a half-length. Unbridled Belle never fired in her first start on a synthetic surface and finished ninth.

Out of multiple Grade 3-placed winner Manoa, by Seeking the Gold, Carriage Trail improved to six wins in 15 starts and nearly doubled her bankroll to $644,628.

For an Equibase chart, click here.

Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor