LAUREL, MD— Trainer Hugh McMahon and owner Larry Rabold were uncertain about claiming Spencer Tiara when the mare was entered for $40,000 on November 30.

“It was one of those [situations where] we let what happened at the paddock side dictate [our decision],” McMahon said. “If she showed the presence of a racehorse, we were going to go for it. She did. She’s big, powerful, robust.”

Spencer Tiara finished second that afternoon for her owner-breeder, trainer Elizabeth Merryman, but went home with McMahon and Rabold.

At Laurel Park on Friday, Spencer Tiara joined McMahon in the winner’s circle after Sheldon Russell guided her to a gate-to-wire victory in the co-featured seventh race, a $49,000 first-level allowance for fillies and mares at six furlongs.

Spencer Tiara’s chances might have been enhanced when Greek Heiress broke out from her wide post position. Spencer Tiara assumed the lead and set solid fractions of 22.38 and 45.89 seconds while prompted by Vanilla and a recovered Greek Heiress.

Spencer Tiara poured it on in the stretch, drawing clear to win by 7 ½ lengths in 1:10.36 on the fast track. Vanilla was second, 1 ¾ lengths ahead of multiple stakes-placed La Chismosa. Mon Reve, Greek Heiress, and Getting Closer followed.

Spencer Tiara returned $7.60 as the betting favorite. On a Proud Note was scratched.

Heading into the race, McMahon wasn’t confident it would unfold as it did.

“We were in the three-hole. There’s speed inside and speed outside. It didn’t look good for us,” he said. “We had to go for it. Sheldon told me afterward that if she doesn’t break well, [because] she’s so powerful, he didn’t know if he could restrain her.”

The decision to purchase Spencer Tiara proved wise when she made her first start for McMahon and Rabold on February 10. Although she finished second that afternoon, she improved her Beyer Speed Figure by 12 points from her previous start, which gave McMahon the confidence to stretch her around two turns the following month.

Spencer Tiara weighed in at 1,210 pounds as a 2-year-old, so she certainly has the body type to run long. She didn’t disappoint in her route debut, winning by 5 ¾ lengths under Russell.

"I was just trying to train her to go long, build stamina, get the lead, and stay there,” he said about that restricted allowance at 1 1/16 miles.

Spencer Tiara raced once in April, finishing second in a six-furlong allowance. Handicappers observed that McMahon prepared Spencer Tiara for today’s race with a one-mile breeze last Friday, a strategy that has historically brought significant benefits to his stable.

“[The mile works] are kind on them,” McMahon explained last fall. “I like to go two turns because they go to their left lead around the turn, then to their right lead. They’re doing that throughout. We go 14 [seconds] to the pole, and then in the last three-eighths we split them into a breeze and try to do 12’s at the end and get some wind in their lungs.”

Spencer Tiara is a 5-year-old by Golden Lad, out of Royal Renege, a stakes-winning turf router by Broken Vow. Her second dam is Princess V., a Memo mare who won a stakes race at Turf Paradise and finished third in Belmont’s Grade 1 Prioress Stakes in 2003.

Foaled in Maryland, Spencer Tiara has won four of 17 races, with lifetime earnings of $196,957.

*Around the track:

Jockey Mychel Sanchez swept Friday’s early Daily Double. He always had Sell It ($9.40) in a good position in the first race for trainer Jamie Ness, then wired the field in the second aboard Come On Get Happy ($8.60) for trainer Michelle Nevin.

Live racing resumes Saturday with a 10-race card featuring two “Value Pick 5” wagers, each with a low 12% takeout rate. The first post time is 12 pm ET.

The free “Laurel Park Handicapping Guide” is available on every race day. It provides picks, analysis, trainer stats, trip notes, horses to watch, track bias info, and more from The Maryland Jockey Club’s team of handicappers. Saturday’s guide is available. Click here to view it.

Join us Saturday for the “Belmont Stakes Watch Party” at Laurel Park. Gates open at 10:45 AM, and advance wagering on the full card is available at Saratoga. Enjoy food and drink specials, six Grade 1 races from Saratoga, including the third jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, and action-packed live racing at Laurel Park. For more information, visit here.

Tickets are available for “Tacos & Margaritas at Laurel Park” on Sunday, June 7, between 1 PM and 4 pm. Enjoy great food, exciting live racing, and a relaxing social atmosphere. For menu and ticket information, visit here.

Never miss a second of the action on the Laurel Park YouTube channel. Click here to watch full pan and head-on replays.

Watch “Today at the Races,” the Maryland Jockey Club’s morning handicapping show every racing day at 11 am ET on the Maryland Jockey Club X account. Click here to watch.