SCOTT SPIETH TAKES ANOTHER STEP TOWARD MAJOR CAREER MILESTONE

By Mike Henry —-

As he continues his pursuit of 5,000 career victories, jockey Scott Spieth is determined to do things his way.

Spieth collected his fourth victory of the current Tampa Bay Downs meet in today’s fifth race with a strong front-running performance by 3-year-old Florida-bred filly Immortallove, trained by his wife, Aldana Spieth. The winner was never threatened in the 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight contest, posting a 4 ½-length victory from Pat’schromecompass.

Immoratllove is owned by Endsley Oaks Farm. It was the second career start for the daughter of Kantharos, who finished in a fine time of 1:04.51 for the 5 ½-furlong distance.

With 4,973 career winners, Spieth is confident he’ll get to the coveted 5-grand milestone later this year at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., or JACK Thistledown Racino outside Cleveland, where he excelled while averaging 269 winners a year from 2005-2007.

But the 56-year-old athlete says fans who think he’s downcast about his paucity of victories in Oldsmar aren’t seeing the big picture.

“I come down here to help Aldana take care of our business, and I ride what I ride. I don’t have an agent here. It’s kind of me staying fit and working down here for when we go up north, where I have my agent Steve Hayes, who I’ve been with I don’t know how many years. So I stay fit and stay healthy here and play a lot of golf,” said Spieth, who shot 91 Tuesday at Wentworth Golf Club in Tarpon Springs.

Behind the scenes, Spieth works with his wife to prepare horses such as Immortallove for what they hope will be a productive summer. Spieth rode 37 winners last year at Presque Isle and figures that is probably where he will get to 5,000, as long as he stays healthy.

“I should do that easily,” he said. “I haven’t lost a step from where I was 5, 10 years ago. The young horses Aldana is bringing over, they are the work of the two of us, my years of riding experience and her training expertise. So I’m really enjoying it.

“It will be nice to pass 5,000, but I’ll keep (riding) until either my head or my body tells me I’m done.”

Aldana Spieth knows Scott is excited about getting to 5,000, but the chase isn’t keeping him up nights.

“He maybe feels he has already done it, because he won a lot of Quarter Horse races and those don’t count” (in the official Equibase statistics), she said. “He has accomplished so many things in his life, and that would be another big accomplishment. But I don’t think he is going to stop after he gets there. He likes to be around horses, especially the young ones like this filly.”

The big horse in Aldana Spieth’s barn is Dreaming of Kona, a 3-year-old colt who won the Mucho Macho Man Stakes on Jan. 1 at Gulfstream and had previously finished third here as a 2-year-old in the Inaugural Stakes. He has turned in two sharp 4-furlong breezes since finishing sixth in the Grade III Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby last month, and they hope to run him in the Grade II Pat Day Mile Presented by LG&E and KU on May 6, Kentucky Derby Day, at Churchill Downs.

Dreaming of Kona is owned by Aldana Gonzalez Racing in partnership with Lisa Ballou and Steve Ballou.

Around the oval. Angel Rodriguez and Samy Camacho each rode two winners today. Rodriguez won the second race on Ginettes On Fire, a 3-year-old filly owned by Wasabi Ventures Stables and trained by Jesse Cruz. Rodriguez added the sixth race on the turf with Super Caro, a 3-year-old Florida-bred filly owned and trained by Mike Dini (who had two winners).

Super Caro was claimed from the victory for $20,000 by trainer Craig Smith for new owner Dialed In Racing Stable.

Camacho captured the fourth race on Gerard, a 3-year-old Florida-bred colt owned by Kelly’s Racing and trained by Jon Arnett. Camacho added the seventh with Unified Ride, a 4-year-old filly owned by Robert Tait, Sr., Robert Tait, Jr., and Steve Trizis and trained by Dini.

Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:20 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.