Road to the kentucky derby - iroquois stakes (G3)
"Spice Runner"
The long road to the 2026 Kentucky Derby began in earnest at Churchill Downs on Saturday with the running of the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes, won this year by the Steve Asmussen trained Spice Runner under Jose Ortiz. Spice Runner is a son of Gun Runner and a Winchell Thoroughbreds home-bred who is a full-brother to Gunite, the winner of the G1 Hopeful Stakes as a 2-year-old in 2021 and later the winner of the G1 Forego Stakes, both at Saratoga. Much like his brother, Spice Runner has shown plenty of early speed as a 2-year-old, making a winning debut in May before solid efforts in the Bashford Manor Stakes and Ellis Park Juvenile. Whilst he has earned 10-points on the Kentucky Derby trail, an initial look at his stride data would suggest that he is more likely to develop into a decent prospect over this mile trip, or possibly even 7-furlongs and the fact that this race was a “Win and Your In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is perhaps of more interest.
On his first 3 starts, Spice Runner recorded an average stride length below 24 ft and even on Saturday, when asked to stretch, he reached a peak of just 24.11 ft. If we compare that to the runner-up on Saturday, Comport, who has recorded average stride lengths of 25.33 ft and 25.44 ft on his latest outings, it shows the difference between the pair. We are dealing with Juveniles of course and Spice Runner certainly has time on his side to grow and develop, but given the profile of his full brother, there are reasons to think that he may follow a similar path. He finished behind Comport in the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes in August. He made the running that day but was under pressure as they rounded the home turn and Comport was able to stretch away from him in the closing stages, taking 0.49s out of Spice Runner over the final 3-furlongs.
A change of tactics seemed to suit on Saturday night, as Jose Ortiz kept him covered up behind the pace before making his challenge in the straight. It could be argued that Comport was committed for home too soon, but given that the pair were 5-lengths clear of the rest when they crossed the line and Spice Runner was only able to get on top in the final few strides, that is perhaps a slightly harsh assessment. Spice Runner did run around under pressure, leaning left away from the stick as he was asked to run down the leader, but once straightened in the final furlong, he eventually got his head in front. The 12.96s that he recorded for the final furlong was the only point in the race at which Spice Runner recorded the fastest split in the field, but his run-out speed of 33.69 mph was also a race best figure (next best Comport 32.46 mph) and he clearly has the stamina for a race like this, even if he may require a more patient ride. Comport is the bigger horse and given that he was faster in the 6th and 7th furlongs, it may simply be a case that he tired in a race where he recorded a finishing speed of 93%. However, Spice Runner’s attitude cannot be faulted and whilst it seems highly likely that he will face a much stiffer task in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile if he lines up, he should at least give a good account of himself at that level.