Pat Day, aboard favorite Request for Parole, leads the field down the front stretch in the $500,000 Lane's End Farm Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park. (Patrick Reddy photo) | ZOOM |

        FLORENCE — Nearly every one of the main characters in the 2002 drive to the Triple Crown came out of Saturday's Spiral Stakes Day at Turfway Park with the answers they wanted.

        Perfect Drift proved he can, too, beat Request for Parole and his rival's new jockey, Pat Day.

        They did it in a nostril-for-nostril three-horse finish before a crowd of 19,076, eighth largest in the event's 31-year history.

        Azillion finished second under Mike Smith and Request for Parole was third.

        The race was so close — the three top finishers were within a neck of each other — it did nothing to scare away any prospective Derby entrants.

        Request for Parole's new jockey, Eddie Delahoussaye, learned it's not all bad to travel away from his normal Southern California riding venues.

        If the horse's connections — Dr. William A. Reed and trainer Murray Johnson — want to make a run at the Kentucky Derby, he said, he'd be happy to go along.

        “As we know, on Derby Day not always the best horse wins,” Delahoussaye said. “I told them I wasn't going to tell them to run. But if Perfect Drift comes out of this race good and Murray feels like he wants to run, I'll be there.”

        “Perfect Drift has done everything right,” Johnson said. “We don't know where we're going to send him next. We're just going to enjoy today and decide that tomorrow.”

        Azillion, too, will probably be heard from again on the road to the Run for the Roses, trainer Bob Hess Jr. said.

        “We'll probably be going to Keeneland," he said.

        “The owners are ecstatic.” said Steve Margolis, Request for Parole's trainer. “I'm very happy with the way he ran. We'll see how he comes back before we make any decisions.”

        Others made names for themselves on the undercard.

        D.Wayne Lukas-trained Storm Commander won the Hansel Stakes for Derby-aged 3-year-olds and owner William T. Young was pleased.

        “Evidently he's a better horse than I thought he was,” Young said. Mr. Mellon won the Rushaway Stakes for 3-year-olds by 2 1/2 lengths and his trainer, W. Elliott Walden, said, “Originally I was going to run this horse in an allowance race at Keeneland, but I decided to run him here.

        “Now we might run him in one of the Derby preps in the middle of April. He might run in either the Blue Grass, the Lexington, the Wood, or somewhere.”

        Day rode Colonial Glitter to victory in the Bourbonette Breeders' Cup Stakes for owner Will Wolford, the former National Football League All-Pro lineman. Wolford hinted the Derby Week Kentucky Oaks may be next.

        “Ask me in a week,” he said.

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