Only a 5-furlong workout of 59 seconds April 17 that was the fastest recorded at the distance at Hawthorne Race Course hinted Allspice would be a factor in Saturday’s Grade III $250,000 Sixty Sails Handicap.
The only two victories of the 4-year-old filly’s 10-race career had come in October 2002 at Arlington Park, and she had lost seven a row, prompting horseplayers to make her a 21.40-to-1 long shot in the Chicago circuit’s most important spring race for fillies and mares.
Defending champion Bare Necessities was invading from California after finishing second and third in her preceding two starts at Santa Anita against Grade I opponents, and four straight impressive workouts following those performances led trainer Wally Dollase to believe she was primed for a powerful race.
“On paper it didn’t look like you could beat Bare Necessities, but you never know,” said Allspice’s jockey, Chris Emigh. “It’s horse racing.”
Emigh’s words came after Allspice ran the race of her life, stalking the slow pace set by 48.30-1 long shot Mavoreen, taking command late in the stretch and then answering the challenge of 3-10 favorite Bare Necessities to win by a head. Mavoreen faded to third, finishing 1 1/4 lengths behind the runner-up, and Illinois-bred star Julie’s Prize was fourth.
“I got a good start out of the gate,” Emigh said. “It felt like we were just walking. We were going as slow as we could go. But I was a little worried when I couldn’t get past Jesse Campbell’s horse (Mavoreen) in the stretch. I started screaming and yelling and riding her as hard as I could. I was using the reins, the whip, the goggles–anything I could throw at her. At the eighth-pole I started inching away.”
Allspice was timed in 1:50.66 for the 1 1/8-mile distance and delivered a $44.80 return to those who wagered on her to win. Her $150,000 share of the purse easily bettered the aggregate earnings of $138,902 from her other 10 races.
Jockey Rene Douglas had no excuse to offer for Bare Necessities disappointing performance. “Everything went just like we had planned. . . . I couldn’t get past the winner,” he said.
