Grade 1 Spinster is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Distaff

Letruska (St. George Stables), who has firmly established herself as the leading mare in the land, heads a field of seven fillies and mares entered for the 66th running of the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes (G1) on Sunday, October 10 at Keeneland Race Course.

Scheduled as the ninth race on Sunday's 10-race program, the Juddmonte Spinster is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race with the winner receiving a fees-paid berth into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) to be run Nov. 6 at Del Mar. Post time for the Juddmonte Spinster is 5:15 p.m. ET with first post at 1 p.m.

Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska has had her Breeders' Cup ticket punched three times by virtue of victories in the Ogden Phipps (G1), Fleur de Lis (G2) and Personal Ensign (G1) Presented by Lia Infiniti. Prior to the Ogden Phipps victory, Letruska started her four-race win streak with a nose victory over champion Monomoy Girl in the Apple Blossom (G1) in April at Oaklawn Park.

Since taking the Personal Ensign on Aug. 28, Letruska has had two bullet works at Keeneland. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount Sunday from post position four.

Back to challenge Letruska from the Personal Ensign are Juddmonte's Bonny South and Peter Brant's Dunbar Road.

Trained by Brad Cox, Bonny South has been a runner-up twice to Letruska. She came up 2¾ lengths short in the Ogden Phipps and was a half-length shy in the Personal Ensign. Winner of the Baird Doubledogdare (G3) here this spring, Bonny South will be ridden Florent Geroux out of post position two.

Dunbar Road finished fourth in the Personal Ensign, beaten just three-quarters of a length. Trained by Chad Brown, Dunbar Road was third in last year's Breeders' Cup Distaff here. In her only other Keeneland start, she ran third in the 2019 Juddmonte Spinster.

Dunbar Road will exit post one under jockey Flavien Prat.

The field for the Juddmonte Spinster, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Dunbar Road (Prat, 124 pounds), Bonny South (Geroux, 124), Town Avenger (Julien Leparoux, 121), Letruska (Ortiz Jr., 124), Envoutante (Brian Hernandez Jr., 124), Crystal Ball (Tyler Gaffalione, 124), High Regard (Rafael Bejarano, 124).

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About the Spinster Stakes

The Spinster Stakes carries a $500,000 purse and a lot of prestige. The 1 1/8 mile-race for 3-year-old and older fillies and mares has been contested annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course since 1956, and a victory guarantees a spot in the Breeders' Cup Distaff starting gate.

The race has been won by Hall of Famers and champions including Princess Rooney, Bayakoa, Inside Information, Banshee Breeze and Azeri. Top fillies including Clear Mandate, Keeper Hill, Take Charge Lady, In Lingerie and Emollient have also tallied victories in the Spinster.

Carriage Trail completed the 1 1/8 mile distance in a record timem of 1.46.77 in 2008, while 3-year-old filly Banshee Breeze won by an astounding 12 lengths in 1998 to set the margin of victory record. Jockeys Laffit Pincay, Jr. and Pat Day each have won the race five times, while trainers Ron McAnally and Shug McGaughey each have four wins in the race. Multiple owners have captured the race twice but no owner has a trio of victories.