LEXINGTON, Ky. – Carl Spackler needed every bit of his tactical advantage to hold clear More Than Looks’ late blitz, winning the Grade 1, $1.25 million Coolmore Turf Mile by one length on Saturday at Keeneland. About an hour after he won his seventh straight Grade 1 First Lady with Gina Romantica, trainer Chad Brown won his first Turf Mile. And as for jockey Tyler Gaffalione, he spent two straight Grade 1 races never worse than first. Just after scoring a front-running victory with East Avenue, Gaffalione went wire to wire with Carl Spackler. :: SAVE BIG with a DRF Keeneland Handicapping Package Tactics arose on the fly. Gaffalione said he figured Talk of the Nation and John Velazquez would go to the front in a paceless race. “I looked over at the break and Johnny had taken a pretty good hold. I didn’t want to take anything away from my horse,” Gaffalione said. In so doing, Carl Spackler wound up in strange territory. A confirmed stalker and presser, 4-year-old Carl Spackler had never held a lead until the homestretch in nine previous starts. “I didn’t think it was going to be an issue, but when he made the lead it was… a little unfamiliar for him. He didn’t seem the most comfortable,” Gaffalione said. “But once we got on the backside, he kind of let himself down and got into a good rhythm, and when I called on him at the top of the lane, he really finished the job well.” No doubt, setting the pace proved key for 4-year-old Carl Spackler, who followed up his first Grade 1, in the Fourstardave at Saratoga, with a second at Keeneland. His splits of 23.93 and 47.28 over a firm course were easy for a Grade 1 mile, Talk of the Nation under stout restraint to track the pace. This race was won in the seventh furlong, Carl Spackler going that furlong in 11.31 to open a 2 1/2-length lead at the stretch call. He needed it. More Than Looks, beaten 3 1/2 lengths by Carl Spackler in the Fourstardave, broke near the back, as usual, and dropped to last of nine into the first turn. He still had no one beat at the quarter pole before gearing up after turning for home as Jose Ortiz guided More Than Looks off the fence and, eventually, all the way to the far outside. The horse flew home. About six lengths behind Carl Spackler at the eighth pole, More Than Looks ran his final furlong well under 11 seconds, and in another couple jumps would’ve gotten up. “He did everything but win,” trainer Cherie DeVaux said. “You have to be happy with him.” Mountain Bear finished decently for third, a neck in front of another Brown horse, Running Bee, who was followed across the wire by Spirit of St Louis, Kikkuli, Cash Equity, Talk of the Nation, and Noises Off. Carl Spackler, who paid $4.14 as the favorite, was timed in 1:34.23 for the mile, slower by about a half second than Gina Romantica’s First Lady. Carl Spackler is by Lope de Vega out of a mare Brown trained, Zindaya, who’s a daughter of More Than Ready. Bred in Ireland, Carl Spackler is owned by eFive Racing Thoroughbreds and seems a sure bet to wind up in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The Turf Mile is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and Carl Spackler earned an automatic, fees-paid berth in the BC Mile. There, he’ll face a much deeper and stronger field than he beat Saturday. More Than Looks, who has raced but twice this year, also will show up at Del Mar, DeVeaux said, hoping for more pace than he got in the Turf Mile. This time, instead of racing with a target, Carl Spackler was the target. He hit the mark nonetheless, another milestone for Brown. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.