Vouch, Prince Lucky lodge impressive wins at Laurel
Vouch won at first asking. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.
From a Maryland Jockey Club release
Lael Stables and Three Chimneys Farm’s Vouch went straight to the lead and never looked back for an impressive front-running 8 ¼-length romp in his career debut Monday at Laurel Park.
A 2-year-old son of 1999 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G1) winner Yes It’s True, Vouch ($4.20) ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:47.23 over a fast main track in the $40,000 maiden special weight for juveniles that kicked off the nine-race program. Vouch was a The Racing Biz Horse to Watch for today.
Vouch, purchased for $230,000 at Keeneland’s November 2015 breeding stock sale, had been training steadily since early July at Fair Hill for his unveiling including four straight bullet workouts. He went off as the even-money favorite in the field of six.
It is the fourth maiden winner of the fall meet for Delacour following 3-year-old filly Bloody Point Oct. 28, 2-year-old colt Tricks to Doo Oct. 27 and 2-year-old filly Madame Milan Oct. 13.
“We’ve liked him. He didn’t really have the speed to go six furlongs first time out so we just decided to get him a little bit fitter, breeze him a few more times and try to go long,” trainer Arnaud Delacour said. “I’m glad it worked out. Obviously he was pretty fit. He’s a lovely horse, big stride. He was a little bit green but there’s always room for improvement. I think he’s a very nice horse.”
Vouch set leisurely fractions of 25.12 and 49.88 seconds and 1:14.97 with only mild pressure from Salt Air to his outside before leaving his rivals behind after straightening for home. Zestful came on late to pass Salt Air for second.
“He’s a really nice horse. He got a good break so he picked it up good in front and he was on the bit all the way around,” Karamanos said. “I just let him run just at the top of the stretch. He was a little bit green but he can run. He gave me a nice kick at the end.”
NOTES Larry Jones trainee Prince Lucky — also a horse to watch today — powered to a nearly-four length win in a first allowance test for two-year-olds. The winning time for six furlongs was 1:10.78. “This horse can run a lot. He’s got a lot of natural talent and he’s learning what he’s doing. We’ve got big plans for him,” Jones said. “We’ll see how far he can go along and maybe point toward the Triple Crown trail…”
There will be carryovers of $3,260.75 in the Super High 5 and $18,372.40 in the Rainbow 6 when racing resumes on Friday at Laurel…
