Spiral Stakes 2015: Post Time, Post Positions, Contenders Odds and Schedule

The 2015 Spiral Stakes is set to kick off a flurry of Kentucky Derby prep races that will take place between now and April 11 (race day for the 2015 running of the Lexington).

This year's field promises to be one of the best in recent memory and presents us with a host of contenders vying for a spot in this year's Kentucky Derby field.

Despite the demotion to Grade 3 status, the Spiral Stakes has taken on a larger role in the Derby Trail over the last few years.

The most recent, noteworthy running of the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes came in 2011 when, as a second choice, Animal Kingdom took down Decisive Moment and Twinspired late in the race. Animal Kingdom went on to win the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby just over a month later.

Who's to say this year's race can't turn out a similar contender?

Either way, somebody's going to walk out a winner in the $550,000 race, and they're also going to take home another 50 points toward a start in the Derby.

Spiral Stakes Info

When: Saturday, March 21 at 6:28 p.m. ET

Where: Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky

Post Positions and Contenders Odds

As noted above, this year's field is capable of putting forth one of the best combined efforts of any in recent memory.

Oddsmakers have set Royal Son (7-2) as the first and Metaboss ( 4-1) as the second morning-line selection.

Both of these horses merit watching, but we'll take an in-depth look at a few more of those in the coming breakdown. Before we get to that though, take a look at the chart below for a full listing of post positions and odds.

Position	Horse	Jockey	Odds
1	Royal Son	Rodney Prescott	7-2
2	Big Family	Albin Jimenez	30-1
3	Watchyourownbobber	Rajiv Maragh	20-1
4	Wireless Future	Florent Geroux	12-1
5	Another Lemon Drop	Calvin Borel	6-1
6	Imperia	Joel Rosario	Scratch
7	Magic of Believing	Shane Laviolette	20-1
8	Task Force Glory	Rafael Hernandez	30-1
9	Conquest Typhoon	Mike Smith	5-1
10	Firespike	Miguel Mena	20-1
11	Metaboss	Alex Solis	4-1
12	Dubai Sky	Jose Lezcano	8-1

Race Preview

The race order was just set on March 18, but we've already had an early scratch from the field, as Byron King of the Daily Racing Form reported that Imperia would not run in Saturday's Grade 3.

I hate the post position, but on paper, Metaboss is my first choice in this field. Beyond that, if you need a good story to root for heading into the Derby, he's your horse.

The three-year-old chestnut colt is the son of Street Boss and Spinning Yarns, and owns a 2-1-1 record over five career starts.

Metaboss pulled Hall of Fame jockey Alex Solis for the race, and the last time these two hooked up, they managed a victory in the El Camino Real Derby over the synthetic surface at Golden Gate Fields. 

Solis rode the young colt brilliantly, and while he broke behind the main group of runners, it proved to be of little concern. Solis began to move up the pack early on, keeping the leaders within sight. 

As you can see in the video above, Solis and Metaboss made an incredible move during the turn for home, allowing the three-year-old to open up to a solid three-length victory.

With Street Cry as his grandsire, the young challenger has an outstanding pedigree backing him. That, along with his strong past showings over 1 1/8 mile courses (2 wins in two starts at the distance) should give Metaboss enough of an edge to come out on top.

Look for him to sit in the middle of the pack and close into the moderate pace set by the leaders.

Dubai Sky, a three-year-old bay colt of Candy Ride and House of Danzig, provides bettors with another intriguing choice behind Metaboss. 

Coming into the Spiral, Dubai Sky looks to be in great form. The young colt has won each of his last four starts, including his most recent in the Kitten's Joy at Gulfstream Park.

In the Kitten's Joy, Dubai Sky pushed the pace all race and dueled for the lead from the half-pole, all the way through the finish.

For this Bill Mott-trained colt, extending out to 1 1/8 miles shouldn't be too big a move, and pulling former Breeders' Cup Mile winner Jose Lezcano for the ride can't hurt either.

Look for him to sit just off the pace and also to be a factor late.

One last note on Dubai Sky. Last year's Spiral Stakes winner, We Miss Artie, took a similar route to the Spiral, finishing second in the Kitten's Joy before going on to win the Spiral.

The final horse we'll look at here is the morning-line favorite, Royal Son.

He's not my first pick, but his pedigree (sired by Tiznow), trainer (Todd Pletcher) and status as the morning-line favorite warrant a serious look.

Royal Son was a three-time second-place finisher before trying his hand at the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis. The three-year-old turned in an uninspiring effort but then rebounded brilliantly in the John Battaglia Memorial. 

Breaking second behind would-be-challenger The Great War, Royal Son was able to gain the lead by the first turn. From there, there was no looking back, as the young colt passed the first- and second-quarter marks with times of 24.8 seconds and 49.8 seconds, respectively.

Royal Son opened up during the turn for home and finished the race with a commanding lead of five-plus lengths. 

The issue with Royal Son is that he may not be able to dictate the pace in this field, and he hasn't shown the full ability to play catch-up. He'll be on my ticket, but not on top of it.