Vinceremos, lightly regarded at odds of 12.40-1, surged through an opening along the rail to take command of the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (gr. III) at Tampa Bay Downs, then held off a late run from stablemate Harpoon to give trainer Todd Pletcher a 1-2 sweep of the 8.5-furlong Kentucky Derby prep.
With Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado aboard, Vinceremos got off to a very alert start and quickly settled into the second position early on, a half-length behind pace-setting Cousin Stephen and just in front of Asserting Bear. Harpoon, School On a Hill, and Matador were all tightly bunched just in behind the leaders, while Imaginethatmom and favored Noble Cornerstone were well behind the main pack and seemingly out of contention from the start.
Through fractions of :24.35, :48.77, and 1:13.61 seconds, Cousin Stephen continued to lead the way, but Vincemeros actually dropped back a bit, shifting to fourth position while staying on the rail as Asserting Bear and School On a Hill moved up. In the meantime, Harpoon was being shuffled back a bit, and was back in sixth place, four lengths behind Cousin Stephen.
Turning for home, Cousin Stephen still held the lead, but Prado had found a seam along the rail, and Vincemeros shot through to take command by 1 1/2 lengths. In the meantime, Harpoon had extracted himself from traffic and was coming fast on the far outside, gobbling up ground in impressive fashion. The two colts hit the wire with virtually nothing between them, but the photo finish camera revealed Vincemeros as the winner by a nose, with Cousin Stephen re-rallying late to finish just three-quarters of a length behind Harpoon. Matador, Asserting Bear, School On a Hill, Noble Cornerstone, and Imaginethatmom completed the order of finish. The final time was 1:47.34 seconds.
Vincemeros is a son of Pioneerof the Nile out of the More Than Ready mare Kettle's Sister. Owned by WinStar Farm and Twin Creeks Racing, Vincemeros was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, and has now compiled a record two wins and a second from three starts, with earnings of $153,600.
-Keelerman
No comments:
Post a Comment