Mushka was awarded the victory in the $500,000, Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes following the disqualification of Proviso (GB) Sunday at Keeneland.

 

With Mushka rallying on the outside under Kent Desormeaux, Proviso suddenly ducked to the outside approaching the sixteenth pole, interfering with her on-rushing rival.

 

“I thought the last sixteenth of a mile, the leader (Proviso) had idled on the lead and she was stopping,” said Desormeaux.  “At that point, she at the same time was making a right-hand turn.

 

“With the momentum change that was being made by her gawking on the lead, I know I would have definitely caught her.”

 

Proviso, ridden by Rajiv Maragh, held a 1 1/4-length advantage at the finish of the 1 1/8-mile race timed in 1:49.01.  The stewards immediately posted the “inquiry” sign and Desormeaux lodged a foul claim, resulting in the disqualification.

 

“My horse ran huge today and she was definitely the best,” said Maragh.  “I made the lead with her and then she stopped focusing, so I tapped her and when I did she just bolted out.  But still that other horse was never going to pass me.”

 

Owner Brushwood Stable purchased Mushka for $2.4 million as a 3-year-old at Keeneland’s 2008 November Breeding Stock Sale.  The 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker rewarded her owner with a $300,000 paycheck on Sunday.  She now has earned $723,625.

 

Following the win—her sixth in 16 career starts—trainer Bill Mott indicated the Mushka will start next in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be run on November 6-7 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.

 

 The winner, who displayed her liking for Keeneland’s Polytrack surface by winning at the Spinster distance in April, paid $12.40, $6 and $5.80. Proviso, a recent arrival from Europe, returned $4.80 and $4.  Teamgeist (ARG) finished third and returned $8.40.

 

In the supporting feature, Wertheimer and Fere’s Interactif established himself as one of the favorites for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G2) by winning the $125,000, Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes.

 

Kept far removed from the rail on the “yielding” turf course by Desormeaux, the son of Broken Vow rallied from far back in the field of 12 2-year-olds to win the 1 1/16-mile race by a length as the even-money favorite.

 

Codoy, a 57-1 outsider, finished second, 2 ½ lengths in front of Family Foundation.  Codoy returned $28 and $9.20 and Family Foundation paid $4.40.  The winning time was 1:45.24.

 

After breaking from the gate “like a Quarter Horse,” Desormeaux said Interactif settled down at the back of the large field.  “After that moment in time, he came back to me and got in a nice canter and tried to inch to the leaders.”

 

Interactif gave trainer Todd Pletcher his third Bourbon Stakes victory in four years, improved his record to three wins in four starts and increased his earnings to $164,250.