By Bill Finley
Spa Prospector (Authentic) didn't fare well in her first career start. She was seventh, beaten nine lengths in a race at Churchill. Saturday's second race at Saratoga didn't figure to be any easier as it was filled with a collection of well-bred first-time-starters from some of the game's top stables. But trainer Tom Amoss went into the race with a lot of confidence in his filly.
He was proven right and she skipped over the Saratoga slop to win the six-furlong race by 3 1/2 lengths under Jose Ortiz.
“Why did she run so much better? It's simple. it was all about her having experience,” Amoss said. “I really liked her the first time she ran at Churchill but she was just was very, very green and all over the racetrack. She wanted to get away from the other horses so she started lugging out a little bit. She made things hard on her rider, Brian Hernandez Jr.
“That's the great thing about having a race under your belt as opposed to debuting,” he said. “You can see all the mistakes in their first start and work on them, and we worked on those mistakes and she really ran well today.”
Spa Prospector, a $450,000 Keeneland September purchase, showed no speed in her debut, but she rocketed out of the gate Saturday and could not be caught.
“Having the one-hole today, she broke clean, so I just let her go to the lead,” said Jose Ortiz, who swept the early double.
The only horse who came close to Spa Prospector was Jetty's Home (Enticed), who moved into second on the turn. Sent off at 20-1, Jetty's Home was the other horse in race who had started before.
The final time on the sloppy surface was 1:10.94 and the winner paid $13.40.
Ginger Ale (Into Mischief), a half-sister to Grade I winner Search Results (Flatter), was bet down to 6-5, but didn't show much before checking in fourth.
It was a good start to the day to anyone playing the “experience” angle. Curtain Call (Tiz the Law) won the first race in what was his second lifetime start.
Spa Prospector breaks her maiden in R2 at The Spa to give @jose93_ortiz the early double! 🤩@tomamossracing trains the 2YO filly. pic.twitter.com/Vg6giSXYKx
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) July 12, 2025
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