Vindiana Jones Blitzes Rivals in Shiny Gem (G2) Stakes

In one of the strangest stakes this writer has seen in a while, Vindiana Jones blitzed 13 rivals in the G2 Shiny Gem Stakes, taking the lead right out of the gate, getting away by as far as 4 ¼ lengths, then tiring through the stretch to surrender that lead, while finally finding what looked to be a second wind ten strides before the wire to just outlast the game filly They Call Me Magic.  

The 6.50-1 favorite in the full field of 14, Vindiana Jones had his share of doubters coming into this race (including yours truly!).  The race was stacked with speed, and he had coughed up early leads in several recent starts, but trainer peeps6 and jockey R. Foster were vindicated (pardon the pun) with their colt’s front running performance here.

Stepping out of her own division for the first time, They Call Me Magic acquitted herself very well, only falling ¼ lengths short, while 3^rd place finisher Double The Bet strung together two good efforts for the first time in recent history, exactly replicating the 103 speed figure he recorded in his allowance prep race for this week’s contest.

Moving forward, Vindiana Jones still has questions to answer: giving up a 4 lengths lead in the final two furlongs is a very disturbing trend, and he’ll need to replicate this effort again over 10 furlongs to demonstrate that he belongs in the upper echelon of the three year old division.  Otherwise, trainer peeps6 may opt to test out the grass: as a natural miler, Gone West and Danzig on the female side of his pedigree support the hypothesis that he may relish the green.  May there be a spot for him in the Breeders’ Bowl Mile?  Time will tell!