Joy-ful Stakes Win in Vermont

Experience over the surface proved telling in the Vermont feature, as the racers who had run on the grass before went 1-2-3-4 in the seven-horse race.  Fit of Joy entered the race in brilliant form, with a cockiness that served her well during the cavalry charge out of the gate.  She settled comfortably three-quarters of a length back, tracked Tabasco Explosion when that one kicked clear, and drew off steadily in the stretch to win by a quarter-length.

Fit of Joy is a homebred daughter of Sadler’s Wells, out of a Kingmambo mare, and hails from the peeps10 stable  The Mother Live was her sixth career race and third win, as well as her third in a row.  She earned a speed rating of 92, covering the six and a half furlongs in 1:16 and 4/5, and pushed her lifetime earnings over $75,000.

Tabasco Explosion dueled with Bandstand through the first two calls, put that one away in the stretch, but had to settle for second despite a good, game effort by the daughter of Phone Trick.  Bandstand kept her company in the early going, but couldn’t match strides with the top two down the stretch.

Diesel Teddy T(GB) chased the leaders and tired down the stretch, while favored Silver Strav struggled in her turf debut and picked up only a minor check.  Grino’s Prize and Ontible similarly seemed uncomfortable on the grass.