G1, Vermont Is 4 Lovers: Hearts will be pounding for these 3 yr olds.

Vermont (VT) Saturday, February 13, 2021 — 2:20:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2589546
VERMONT IS 4 LOVERS
Grade I / Group 1 – Sponsored – Purse : $500,000
Restricted to 3 Year Olds
9 Furlongs | ~1800 Meters | One Mile and and One Eighth	Fast Dirt

This race has long standing been a premier prep race for the 3 year olds.  Over the course of time the top runners in this race have often went on to run in Derby-Lock races and/or seen to running in the Bluegrass Derby or other Triple Crown Races.  I would expect this year’s running of the G1, Vermont Is 4 Lovers to prove to do much the same in giving a good boost to horses trying to make their way to the Bluegrass such as last year’s winner Hopkinson Flyer who went on to run third in the Bluegrass Derby. This field of colts and geldings looks fairly tight and it should make for an exciting race on Saturday.  The morning line odds have been posted and the random gate draws have concluded.  Let us now take a quick preview of the horses that are entered and that are seeking a big win here in this very prestigious race, the G1, Vermont Is 4 Lovers.

1

GIANT SUPERCELL

KY

3M

mrxrayz19

H Artack

5

4

100%

$339,660

88.00

8/1

Breaking from the inside gate will be this Bay Colt sired by Midnight Storm.  He has five career starts and has never finished worse than second.  He was on a four race winning streak, but his last trip to the track broke that streak of wins, but it was not to be too much of a disappointment for the owner or horse.  He last ran on 12/13/2020 on a sloppy track in California going 8.5 furlongs in the G1, Movieland Futurity.  He was hanging in tight and crossed the wire in second with a very nice run on this off track.  For the ride here on Saturday the owner has placed a call to jockey, H Artack who will be flying in from Turkey to take to the saddle.  This Graded Place winner will be looking sharp and seeking another big trip to the boards when they head out to the track representing the GR Simsters residency.

2

JABUK ALPACA

KY

3M

nomadic02

B Scott

5

5

100%

$320,760

70.00

7/1

This Chestnut Colt is sired by Justify and has never lost a race in five career starts.  He will be looking to keep that winning streak intact here on Saturday when he runs in his first G1 level race.  But he has ran very tough and very well in those five wins he has under his belt.  He won a Listed Stakes in New Jersey, Holland Park Dirt Juvenile and then was moved up in Class to take to the track on 11/22/2020 in Kentucky going 8.5 furlongs in the G2, Club Stakes.  He made a beautiful gate to wire run with a 104 speed rating to pick up this win by two at the wire.  The owner seems to like the Scott brothers riding his horse and has placed the call to jockey, B Scott from Massachusetts to come in and take the mount up top for this trip.  They will be headed out of the paddock at post time to the cheers of an excited crowd.

3

WET ASS PONY

KY

3G

beergarden

J Hornibrook

4

2

75%

$101,395

22.00

13/1

This Bay Gelding is a scratch bred (QUALITY ROAD x DEPUTY MINISTER x UNCLE MO) who has four career starts and has only missed the boards one time.  Unfortunately that miss came in his most recent trip to the track on 12/26/2020 when he ran 8.5 furlongs here in Vermont in the G3, Merry Christmas.  This was his first time to run in a Graded level race and it would be of great disappointment when he ran a 91 speed rating and crossed the wire way back in tenth place.  This horse is a Listed Stakes winner when he in New York he got up in the Fiction Wins Dirt Juvenile.  He made a good closing effort in that race and he will need to find that kind of run here on Saturday as he moves up in Class.  The owner has called in J Hornibrook who is a local jockey here in Vermont and that is very familiar in riding this horse.  This pairing will be headed out to their gate representing the Drunken Jockeys Club residency.

4

THE FIRST ERUPTION

KY

3G

beerkeg

R Hansen

7

1

57%

$279,970

81.00

9/1

Coming out of the fourth gate will be this Bay Gelding who is a scratch bred (UNCLE MO x CARSON CITY x MEDAGLIA D’ORO) who has seven career starts and that has hit the boards in four of those races.  He earned his GP badge when he ran second in the G1, Sparkling Wine Stakes in New York back in October of last year.  His two most recent races were at the G1 level, but he disappointed in both of those races.  His most recent run came on 12/13/2020 when he ran in California in the slop in the G1, Movieland Futurity when he crossed the wire in seventh.  Jockey, R Hansen from California will again get the call to ride up top in this race.  He is very familiar with this horse and will need to find a little more effort out of him when they break from their gate representing the Drunken Jockeys Club residency.

5

KING TUTZIG

KY

3M

2020massatoga4

N Lawton

9

1

67%

$137,970

27.25

9/1

This is a Brown Colt who is a scratch bred (AMERICAN PHAROAH x DANZIG x AWESOME AGAIN) who has somewhat of an unusual career when he broke his Maiden in his ninth career start his last time out on 12/25/2020.  He started out running in an Allowance level race and was immediately moved up to run in Listed and Graded level races.  He did fairly well and hit the boards several time such as in the G2, Club Stakes in Kentucky back in November when he found a third place finish.  His only win came in his last trip to the track on 12/25/2020 when he ran in a Maiden race in Kentucky.  But this not so traditional start to this horses career definitely does not put him out of the running here in Vermont.  The owner calls in jockey, N Lawton from New York who rode this horse in the G2, Club Stakes.  They have done well together in the past and will be headed out at post time representing the Universal Racing Club residency.

6

GOT HAY

KY

3M

kashbred4

V Jef

6

3

83%

$137,810

24.25

8/1

This Chestnut Colt was sired by Justify and has hit the boards in five of his six career starts.  He won the Kristopher S. Dirt Juvenile in Illinois at 8.5 furlongs and then was sent back out for his most recent outing on 01/09/2020 in the G3, The Legoland in Louisiana.  This was to be a disappointing day for this team when he failed to give his best effort and crossed the wire back in sixth with a drop in speed to 97.  This horse is going to need to show that big closing effort we know he has in him if he is going to hang with the crowd here on Saturday.  Jockey, V Jef from Idaho will be coming in to take the irons in this race.  He will saddle up and try to get this horses attention in the stretch run when they head out in this race representing the East-West Connection residency.

7

NEVA KEE

SAF

3M

icbomberhot

E Banner

6

4

100%

$181,165

44.00

8/1

This Bay Colt was sired by Royal Mo and has six career starts and has hit the boards in all of those races and collected four wins along the way.  In November he went 8 furlongs in West Virgini and got up for the win in the Tunaman Dirt Juvenile.  He was then shipped to Colorado for his most recent race to run on 12/27/2020 in the Bite the Pillow Dirt Juvenile of which he had another nice trip to pick up the win.  It is also noteworthy to state this horse also earned his GP badge when back in October of last season he got up for third in the G3, The Charcoal Breeder’s Cup in Ontario.  The owner has placed the call to California to pick up jockey, E Banner who is a familiar jockey to this horse and did ride him in that G3 race in Ontario.  This team will be headed out at the call to post representing the GR Simsters residency.

8

NOTHING TO JUSTIFY

KY

3M

asrtriplecrown

R Bokie

6

2

83%

$140,440

27.00

8/1

This Bay Colt is a scratch bred (JUSTIFY x SEATTLE SLEW x SECRETARIAT) and he has only missed hitting the boards one time.  That miss came in September of last season when he ran in the G1, End Of The Line Futurity in Kentucky.  But he bounced back after that race to hit the boards in October in New York when he ran third in the G3, The Nashua Special in a very competitive race missing by a head bob in a photo finish.  His most recent race came in an Owner Restricted Listed Stakes on 12/26/2020 when he ran on an off track in the ASR Juvy Open Dirt Championship.  He made a nice closing effort to come in second just one off at the wire.  The owner has placed the call to jockey R Bokie from Virginia who will be a first time rider with this horse as he takes to the saddle in this race.  The owner has high hopes for this horse as he steps back up in Class representing the All-Stars Racing residency.

9

FIBER JADE

WV

3M

graywolf20

D Saylor

7

1

57%

$85,135

19.50

12/1

This Light Grey Colt was sired by Fiber Sonde and he has had his share of ups and downs when running in Stakes level races.  His first Graded attempt came back in August of last year when he ran in the G1, Hopeless Stakes of which he finished seventh.  He bounced back to have a couple of nice races, placing second in an Allowance race in Kentucky and then ran in December in the G3, The Sam’s Town Delta Jackpot of which he finished second just three quarters back.  His most recent trip came on 12/26/2020 when he ran on a twenty day rest here in Vermont in the G3, Merry Christmas where he would find no gifts under the tree for him as he crossed the wire in seventh.  The owner has placed the call to jockey, D Saylor from Denmark.  This jockey and horse are a familiar pairing and this jockey will need to pull out a best effort from this horse when they break from their gate representing the Queensland Racecourse residency.

10

HASHTAG DREAMING

KY

3M

coomer3

N Armstrong

7

3

43%

$315,360

20.00

15/1

This Bay Clot is sired by Always Dreaming and back in August of last season he won the G2, Closest Friend Stakes in California at the distance of 6.5 furlongs.  The owner then moved this horse up in distance to go around two turns.  Since doing so this horse has ran in three straight G3 races and missed the boards in each of those trips.  His most recent race was here in Vermont when he ran on 12/26/2020 in the G3, Merry Christmas.  He ran pretty flat that day but did improve on his speed from his prior race.  He crossed the wire in eighth.  He is going to have to show a better effort here on Saturday and he will have a familiar jockey, N Armstrong from Indiana in the saddle to help him.  A snappy whip and a clean trip are needed here for this team when they break from their gate representing the East-West Connection residency.

11

FLORIDA AFFAIRS

KY

3M

resting

J Harzheim

7

1

57%

$70,950

18.50

15/1

This Light Grey Colt was sired by California Chrome and has only one win to his credit in a Hot Race.  But do not let that fool you.  This horse can run when he wants to and he placed second here in Vermont back in September when he ran in the G3, Skeye Jameson Memorial.  He did not have a good trip when he ran in November trying to go 9 furlongs in the G2, The Ransom when he finished seventh.  His most recent trip to the track was again her in Vermont when he ran on 12/26/2020 in the G3, Merry Christmas of which he ran fourth with a much improved speed rating of 99.  This colt will needs to continue showing improvement here in Vermont for this race and he will be getting jockey, J Harzheim who is flying in from Tasmania to take to the saddle for the first time with this horse.  They look to run big here in Vermont and will be going out at post time to represent the East-West Connection residency.

12

BLAZINGBALLOFLIGHT

KY

3M

myt4go4

F Oxon

7

3

86%

$191,715

37.50

20/1

This Bay Colt is a scratch bred (CITY OF LIGHT x SAINT BALLADO x PULPIT) and he has hit the boards in six of his seven career starts.  In October he ran in Kentucky and got up for a nice win in the G3, The Cornstalk with a respectable 95 speed rating.  He then turned to California for his most recent race on 12/26/2020 when he ran on an off track in an Owner Restricted Listed Stakes, ASR Juvy Open Dirt Championship.  This horse simply refused to run on this off surface and did not like the mud in his face.  He failed to perform or contend in this field and crossed the wire back in sixteenth place with a huge drop in speed to 80.  But here in Vermont on Saturday the track will be listed as Fast Dirt at post time and this should be like the sound of music for this horse and the owner.  I look for this horse to rebound this time out and he will have jockey, F Oxon from Louisiana in the saddle to help guide him for this trip.  The jockey will be seeking to get the best out of this horse and get him back on track for a good run here in Vermont when they head out at post time representing the All-Stars Racing residency.

13

TESLAGRAD

KY

3M

babies3

R Sanders

7

2

71%

$205,750

51.00

8/1

This Bay Colt was sired by Mitole who has seven career starts and five trips to the boards.  He showed up in third in both the G3, Trixy Delight’s Special and in the G3, Cryogenics Juvenile.  He was forth in the G2, The Ransom in Kentucky and then made his way to Vermont where he last ran on 12/26/2020 going 8.5 furlongs in the G3, Merry Christmas where he got the biggest present under the tree.  He made a very nice closing effort down the stretch as the jockey timed it right to get this horse up for the win by a quarter.  This horse will be taking a bump up in Class, but he is looking fairly sharp for this race.  He will have a familiar jockey, R Sanders from Texas in the saddle.  This pairing is looking to step up gracefully here and battle it out when they head out of their gate representing the Universal Racing Club residency.

14

SLASH DOT MURDER

KY

3G

given4

O A Haack

5

4

80%

$308,400

69.00

11/1

Coming out of the dreaded draw of the fourteenth gate will be this Bay Gelding sired by Bernardini.  But with four trips to the boards and coming out of some further outside gates before he may have the power to overcome this gate draw.  This horse likes to linger just off the lead in his best races and he is coming off a nice win from his last trip to the track which was in New York on 11/21/2020.  He ran going 9 furlongs in the G2, The Ransom of which when his jockey asked him for some extra effort and he responded to get up for the win by a half.  The owner has called in jockey O A Haack to fly in from Florida to ride his horse for the first time.  This jockey will need to get this horse into a good position out of the gate and save some extra gas in the tank for a big stretch run when they head out representing the GR Simsters residency.

Good luck to all owners and horses!

Skippy’s Watch List

2-Jabuk Alpaca:  Has never lost a race in five starts.  Will he make it six in a row?

13-Teslagrad: The winner of the G3, Merry Christmas here in Vermont.  Will he get a Valentine too?

14-Slash Dot Murder: Coming off a win in the G2, The Ransom. Will he collect more hostages?

Tarton’s Long Shot

11-Florida Affairs:  This 15/1 choice in the field continues to improve and he ran fourth here in Vermont in the G3, Merry Christmas.  He could upset some horses in this field if he can gracefully bump up in Class and show a little more effort.  The distance looks good for him here and I think he deserves a spot on some of my exotic bets when I head to the windows.