Undefeated Spendarella Leads Field of Eight for Appalachian Presented by Japan Racing Association

Gainesway Stable’s homebred Spendarella, winner of the Herecomesthebride (G3) in her most recent start, headlines a field of eight 3-year-old fillies for Saturday’s 34^th running of the $400,000 Appalachian (G2) Presented by Japan Racing Association going a mile over the turf. 

The Appalachian will go as Saturday afternoon’s sixth race with a 3:20 p.m. ET post time. 

Trained by two-time Appalachian winner Graham Motion, Spendarella did not make her racing debut until Feb. 2 at Gulfstream and followed that with the wire-to-wire win as the favorite in the Herecomesthebride going a mile. 

Tyler Gaffalione has the mount Saturday and will break from post position three. 

Two other Grade 3 winners also are in the field: Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables and Robert LaPenta’s Dolce Zel (FR) and Dubb and Madaket’s Ouraika (FR). 

Trained by three-time Appalachian winner Chad Brown, Dolce Zel comes into Saturday’s race off a victory in the Florida Oaks (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs on March 12. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount and will leave from post position four. 

Ouraika, also trained by Motion, opened her 2022 campaign with a West Coast trip to Santa Anita where she won the Sweet Life (G3) on Feb. 12. Ouraika will exit post seven and be ridden by Florent Geroux. 

The field for the Appalachian Presented by Japan Racing Association, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Glenall (IRE), Julien Leparoux, 118 pounds), An Agent Mistake (Rafael Bejarano, 118), Spendarella (Gaffalione, 118), Dolce Zel (FR) (Ortiz Jr., 118), Skims (GB) (Flavien Prat, 118), Trobairitz (Jareth Loveberry, 118), Ouraika (FR) (Geroux, 118) and Kneesnhips (James Graham, 118). 

GOLDEN PAL FACES 10 FOES IN 2022 DEBUT IN SHAKERTOWN

Two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Golden Pal will make his 2022 debut Saturday when he headlines a field of 11 in the 26^th running of the $350,000 Shakertown (G2) going 5½ furlongs on the grass. 

The Shakertown will go as the eighth race on Saturday’s 11-race program with a 4:30 p.m. (ET) post time. 

Trained by Wesley Ward, who won the 2016 Shakertown with Undrafted and the 2018 and 2021 runnings with Bound for Nowhere, Golden Pal is undefeated in two Keeneland starts, having won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) in 2020 and last year winning the Woodford (G2) before going on to win the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2) at Del Mar. 

Irad Ortiz Jr. will have the mount on Golden Pal and break from post position 10. 

The field for the Shakertown, with riders and weights from the rail out, is: Chess Master (Jesus Castanon, 122 pounds), Natural Power (IRE) (Corey Lanerie, 122), Barraza (Julien Leparoux, 124), Diamond Oops (Florent Geroux, 122), Gear Jockey (Brian Hernandez Jr., 124), The Lir Jet (IRE) (Tyler Gaffalione, 124), Cowan(Rafael Bejarano, 122), Johnny Unleashed (Gerardo Corrales, 122), Filo Di Arianna (BRZ) (Luis Saez, 122), Golden Pal (Ortiz Jr., 126) and Just Might (Colby Hernandez, 122).