Counting Stars steps outside her age group to tackle a high-voltage renewal of the Spinster Stakes
Winner of both the Acorn Stakes (G1) and the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), the Mark Casse-trained 3-year-old filly steps up to face older rivals for the first time this Sunday at Keeneland. She will go toe-to-toe against Fully Subscribed, coming off a dominant victory in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1), while Immersive returns to a track where she has already tasted success at the highest level
LEXINGTON, Kentucky (Special for Turf Diario).— Counting Stars spent much of the summer building a compelling case to put herself at the center of the division leadership debate. This Sunday, the time will come to discover just how far that progression extends when she takes on older mares for the first time.
The daughter of Honor A.P. will be the sole 3-year-old filly among the five entrants for the Spinster Stakes (G1-1,800 m, $650,000), one of the signature features of the Keeneland fall meet and a direct stepping stone toward the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1).
Conditioned by Mark Casse for West Point Thoroughbreds, Counting Stars took a massive leap forward during the Saratoga meeting. First, she captured the Acorn Stakes (G1) in June, and then she reasserted her dominance by claiming the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) in July. Between both victories, she accumulated an 8-length winning margin over her rivals.
Her winning streak came to an end on August 22 in the Alabama Stakes (G1), where she finished third over 2,000 meters. Casse does not believe the longer trip was to blame for that subpar effort. Instead, his explanation points to the mere four-week turnaround between the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama.
“That was really her first dull performance of the spring or summer. She had been third in the Kentucky Oaks, but she ran well that day,” he explained. “At Saratoga, she really put all the pieces together, and I would say that, based on what she has accomplished so far, she is probably near the top of the division.”
This time, Counting Stars enjoyed more time to recover and, according to her trainer, enters happy and training exceptionally well. Furthermore, as the only 3-year-old in the field, she will receive a 4-pound weight allowance from her older adversaries.
Fully Subscribed, a Formidable Rival
The test will be stern, primarily due to the presence of Fully Subscribed. The Klaravich Stables representative enters off the most dominant performance of her career, scoring by 9 3/4 lengths in the Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) on August 29 at Saratoga.
That represented the first Group 1/Grade 1 victory for the daughter of Tiz the Law and signaled, according to trainer Chad Brown, the long-awaited fulfillment of something his team had anticipated for a while.
“She has always trained at a very high level and was very consistent in her races, but that was definitely a breakthrough performance,” the trainer explained. “We always believed she had the capability to win in that fashion.”
Brown had considered targeting the Beldame Stakes (G2) at Belmont at the Big A, but ultimately opted for an extra week of recovery following her massive exertion in the Personal Ensign.
That route also carries an obvious benefit: Fully Subscribed will get a run over the Keeneland main track before returning there for the Breeders’ Cup.
Indeed, the Spinster is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, offering the winner an all-expenses-paid berth into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1-1,800 m, $2,000,000), scheduled for October 31 over the very same track and trip.
Immersive Knows the Way
The third major contender in the lineup will be Immersive, the only runner among the five entrants who already knows what it means to win over the Keeneland dirt. Named Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2024, the daughter of Nyquistconquered the Alcibiades Stakes (G1) that season before traveling to Del Mar to dominate the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) by 4 1/2 lengths.
The Godolphin homebred, trained by Brad Cox, comes in following a third-place finish behind Splendora (Blame) in the Locust Grove Stakes (G2), held on September 12 at Churchill Downs. Prior to that, she had captured the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) over that same oval.
The compact field is completed by Regaled (Mohaymen), runner-up to Immersive in the Fleur de Lis and also entered in the Delaware Handicap (G3), along with Snowyte (Good Magic), who set the pace in the Personal Ensignbefore fading to fourth.
For all contenders, the Spinster serves as a natural stepping stone toward the Distaff. For Counting Stars, however, it carries added significance. After measuring herself against the best fillies of her generation all season long, she must now prove that her victories in the Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks are enough to stack up against the older division. Fully Subscribed just set an extraordinarily high bar, and Immersive knows Keeneland inside and out. On Sunday, the question of generational supremacy will finally begin to find its answer.
