SPINAWAY TURNS INTO RUNAWAY FOR DIANA.(SPORTS)

Byline: BILL ARSENAULT Staff writer

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Jockey Shane Sellers wasn't surprised with Countess Diana's easy victory Friday in the 106th running of the Spinaway at Saratoga Race Course.

``This is as good a filly as I've ever been on,'' Sellers said after the 2-year-old romped in a field of five in the $200,000 race at seven furlongs.

The victory, before a crowd of 15,759, gave trainer David Byrne his first Grade I victory. He's 6 of 14 for the Saratoga meet, including three Grade II races.

``Shane came to me and said my filly was the one he wanted to ride in the Spinaway,'' Byrne said.

The victory itself was no surprise -- Countess Diana was the 4-5 favorite. But the 6-length margin was an attention-getter.

The race set up as a battle between Countess Diana and the D. Wayne Lukas-trained Salty Perfume, second in the betting at 2-1. It happened that way for a while, but Salty Perfume packed it in in the final yards. She finished last.

Sellers had ridden Salty Perfume to an easy victory in the Adirondack Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 11. But he knew which horse he wanted to ride in the Spinaway.

``I didn't tell Shane what to do with the filly,'' Byrne said. ``This was his third trip aboard her. You don't tell jockeys like Sellers, Jerry Bailey or Pat Day how to ride a horse. They know what they're doing.''

Countess Diana and Salty Perfume were head-to-head right from the start, with fractions of 22.2 for the quarter and 45.4 for the half. It looked like the two fillies would battle that way to the wire, but Salty Perfume backed up and Brac Drifter rallied to finish second with Aunt Anne third.

``They both have the same style,'' Sellers said. ``I knew it would be quick early and I figured the horse with the late stamina would come out on top.

``In the final yards, my filly just exploded,'' Sellers said.

And Sellers predicted Countess Diana will continue to improve.

``Thus far, she's been the fastest thing in the race,'' the jockey said. ``But I think she can handle it if she's tested. She's a freakish horse and she runs with her ears up.''

Sellers was surprised that Salty Perfume didn't battle on longer.

``The course was a little deep and maybe it took its toll on Salty Perfume,'' Sellers said. ``I knew it would be no trouble for my horse. She runs on anything.''

Lukas was disappointed and a little surprised that Salty Perfume didn't battle the whole way.

``She may not have cared for the course, but it was the same for all of them,'' Lukas said. ``The fractions and pace were just fine. She made a 50-yard move and that was that. She just didn't fire the way I figured she would. I could see her getting beat, but not like that.''

Jockey Day also was surprised.

``We were tracking the winner on the backstretch and on the turn and when my filly changed leads, she gave me nothing and went limp,'' Day said. ``I expected much better than this.''

While Lukas has to go back to the drawing board for Salty Perfume, Byrne has his game plan set for Countess Diana.

``I'd love to run her at Belmont, but I want to run her two turns,'' said Byrne, who had a standout meet at Churchill Downs earlier this summer. ``I plan to take her back to Kentucky and run her in The Alcibiades because of that.''

The Alcibiades is a $400,000 race around two turns at 1 1/16 miles that will be run Oct. 11 at Keeneland.

After that, ``We're looking toward the Breeders' Cup,'' Byrne said.

Brac Drifter has finished second to both Salty Perfume (Adirondack) and Countess Diana.

``We were just no match for the winners,'' Brac Drifter jockey Mike Smith said. ``Even though we finished second, I'm happy with the way my filly ran.''

SPINAWAY TURNS INTO RUNAWAY FOR DIANA.(SPORTS)

Byline: BILL ARSENAULT Staff writer

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- Jockey Shane Sellers wasn't surprised with Countess Diana's easy victory Friday in the 106th running of the Spinaway at Saratoga Race Course.

``This is as good a filly as I've ever been on,'' Sellers said after the 2-year-old romped in a field of five in the $200,000 race at seven furlongs.

The victory, before a crowd of 15,759, gave trainer David Byrne his first Grade I victory. He's 6 of 14 for the Saratoga meet, including three Grade II races.

``Shane came to me and said my filly was the one he wanted to ride in the Spinaway,'' Byrne said.

The victory itself was no …