{"id":54307,"date":"2021-02-12T03:52:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T03:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=54307"},"modified":"2021-02-12T03:52:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T03:52:12","slug":"g1-vermont-is-4-lovers-hearts-will-be-pounding-for-these-3-yr-olds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/?p=54307","title":{"rendered":"G1, Vermont Is 4 Lovers: Hearts will be pounding for these 3 yr olds."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n Vermont (VT)<\/strong>\n Saturday, February\n 13, 2021 — 2:20:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2589546<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n     \n <\/td><\/tr>
<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
\n VERMONT IS 4 LOVERS
\n <\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr>
\n Grade I \/ Group 1 – Sponsored<\/em>\n – Purse : $500,000<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/td><\/tr>
\n Restricted to 3 Year\n Olds\n <\/td><\/td><\/tr>
\n 9 Furlongs | ~1800\n Meters | One Mile and and One Eighth<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n Fast Dirt<\/strong>\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s winner Hopkinson Flyer<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 1<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n GIANT\n SUPERCELL\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n mrxrayz19<\/a>\n <\/td>\n H Artack\n <\/td>\n 5\n <\/td>\n 4\n <\/td>\n 100%\n <\/td>\n $339,660\n <\/td>\n 88.00\n <\/td>\n 8\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Breaking from the inside gate will be this Bay Colt sired by Midnight Storm<\/strong>.  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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 2<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n JABUK\n ALPACA\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n nomadic02<\/a>\n <\/td>\n B Scott\n <\/td>\n 5\n <\/td>\n 5\n <\/td>\n 100%\n <\/td>\n $320,760\n <\/td>\n 70.00\n <\/td>\n 7\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This\nChestnut Colt is sired by Justify<\/strong>\nand has never lost a race in five career starts.  He will be looking to keep that winning\nstreak intact here on Saturday when he runs in his first G1 level race.  But he has ran very tough and very well in\nthose five wins he has under his belt. \nHe won a Listed Stakes in New Jersey, Holland Park Dirt Juvenile and\nthen was moved up in Class to take to the track on 11\/22\/2020 in Kentucky going\n8.5 furlongs in the G2, Club Stakes.  He\nmade a beautiful gate to wire run with a 104 speed rating to pick up this win\nby two at the wire.  The owner seems to\nlike the Scott brothers riding his horse and has placed the call to jockey, B\nScott from Massachusetts to come in and take the mount up top for this\ntrip.  They will be headed out of the\npaddock at post time to the cheers of an excited crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 3<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n WET\n ASS PONY\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3G\n <\/td>\n beergarden<\/a>\n <\/td>\n J Hornibrook\n <\/td>\n 4\n <\/td>\n 2\n <\/td>\n 75%\n <\/td>\n $101,395\n <\/td>\n 22.00\n <\/td>\n 13\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Bay Gelding is a scratch bred (QUALITY ROAD x DEPUTY MINISTER x UNCLE MO)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 4<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n THE\n FIRST ERUPTION\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3G\n <\/td>\n beerkeg<\/a>\n <\/td>\n R Hansen\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 1\n <\/td>\n 57%\n <\/td>\n $279,970\n <\/td>\n 81.00\n <\/td>\n 9\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Coming\nout of the fourth gate will be this Bay Gelding who is a scratch bred (<\/strong>UNCLE MO x CARSON CITY x MEDAGLIA D’ORO)<\/strong> who has seven career\nstarts and that has hit the boards in four of those races.  He earned his GP badge when he ran second in\nthe G1, Sparkling Wine Stakes in New York back in October of last year.  His two most recent races were at the G1\nlevel, but he disappointed in both of those races.  His most recent run came on 12\/13\/2020 when\nhe ran in California in the slop in the G1, Movieland Futurity when he crossed\nthe wire in seventh.  Jockey, R Hansen from\nCalifornia will again get the call to ride up top in this race.  He is very familiar with this horse and will\nneed to find a little more effort out of him when they break from their gate\nrepresenting the Drunken Jockeys Club residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 5<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n KING\n TUTZIG\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n 2020massatoga4<\/a>\n <\/td>\n N Lawton\n <\/td>\n 9\n <\/td>\n 1\n <\/td>\n 67%\n <\/td>\n $137,970\n <\/td>\n 27.25\n <\/td>\n 9\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This\nis a Brown Colt who is a scratch bred (<\/strong>AMERICAN PHAROAH x DANZIG x AWESOME AGAIN)<\/strong>\nwho has somewhat of an unusual career when he broke his Maiden in his ninth\ncareer start his last time out on 12\/25\/2020. \nHe started out running in an Allowance level race and was immediately\nmoved up to run in Listed and Graded level races.  He did fairly well and hit the boards several\ntime such as in the G2, Club Stakes in Kentucky back in November when he found\na third place finish.  His only win came\nin his last trip to the track on 12\/25\/2020 when he ran in a Maiden race in\nKentucky.  But this not so traditional\nstart to this horses career definitely does not put him out of the running here\nin Vermont.  The owner calls in jockey, N\nLawton from New York who rode this horse in the G2, Club Stakes.  They have done well together in the past and\nwill be headed out at post time representing the Universal Racing Club\nresidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 6<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n GOT\n HAY\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n kashbred4<\/a>\n <\/td>\n V Jef\n <\/td>\n 6\n <\/td>\n 3\n <\/td>\n 83%\n <\/td>\n $137,810\n <\/td>\n 24.25\n <\/td>\n 8\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Chestnut Colt was sired by Justify<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 7<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n NEVA\n KEE\n <\/td>\n SAF\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n icbomberhot<\/a>\n <\/td>\n E Banner\n <\/td>\n 6\n <\/td>\n 4\n <\/td>\n 100%\n <\/td>\n $181,165\n <\/td>\n 44.00\n <\/td>\n 8\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Bay Colt was sired by Royal Mo<\/strong> 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 8<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n NOTHING\n TO JUSTIFY\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n asrtriplecrown<\/a>\n <\/td>\n R Bokie\n <\/td>\n 6\n <\/td>\n 2\n <\/td>\n 83%\n <\/td>\n $140,440\n <\/td>\n 27.00\n <\/td>\n 8\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Bay Colt is a scratch bred (JUSTIFY x SEATTLE SLEW x SECRETARIAT)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 9<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n FIBER\n JADE\n <\/td>\n WV\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n graywolf20<\/a>\n <\/td>\n D Saylor\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 1\n <\/td>\n 57%\n <\/td>\n $85,135\n <\/td>\n 19.50\n <\/td>\n 12\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Light Grey Colt was sired by Fiber Sonde<\/strong> 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 10<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n HASHTAG\n DREAMING\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n coomer3<\/a>\n <\/td>\n N Armstrong\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 3\n <\/td>\n 43%\n <\/td>\n $315,360\n <\/td>\n 20.00\n <\/td>\n 15\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This\nBay Clot is sired by Always Dreaming<\/strong>\nand back in August of last season he won the G2, Closest Friend Stakes in\nCalifornia at the distance of 6.5 furlongs. \nThe owner then moved this horse up in distance to go around two\nturns.  Since doing so this horse has ran\nin three straight G3 races and missed the boards in each of those trips.  His most recent race was here in Vermont when\nhe ran on 12\/26\/2020 in the G3, Merry Christmas.  He ran pretty flat that day but did improve\non his speed from his prior race.  He\ncrossed the wire in eighth.  He is going\nto have to show a better effort here on Saturday and he will have a familiar\njockey, N Armstrong from Indiana in the saddle to help him.  A snappy whip and a clean trip are needed\nhere for this team when they break from their gate representing the East-West\nConnection residency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 11<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n FLORIDA\n AFFAIRS\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n resting<\/a>\n <\/td>\n J Harzheim\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 1\n <\/td>\n 57%\n <\/td>\n $70,950\n <\/td>\n 18.50\n <\/td>\n 15\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Light Grey Colt was sired by California Chrome<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 12<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n BLAZINGBALLOFLIGHT\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n myt4go4<\/a>\n <\/td>\n F Oxon\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 3\n <\/td>\n 86%\n <\/td>\n $191,715\n <\/td>\n 37.50\n <\/td>\n 20\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Bay Colt is a scratch bred (CITY OF LIGHT x SAINT BALLADO x PULPIT)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 13<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n TESLAGRAD\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3M\n <\/td>\n babies3<\/a>\n <\/td>\n R Sanders\n <\/td>\n 7\n <\/td>\n 2\n <\/td>\n 71%\n <\/td>\n $205,750\n <\/td>\n 51.00\n <\/td>\n 8\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

This Bay Colt was sired by Mitole<\/strong> who has seven career starts and five trips to the boards.  He showed up in third in both the G3, Trixy Delight\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n 14<\/strong>\n <\/td>\n SLASH\n DOT MURDER\n <\/td>\n KY\n <\/td>\n 3G\n <\/td>\n given4<\/a>\n <\/td>\n O A\n Haack\n <\/td>\n 5\n <\/td>\n 4\n <\/td>\n 80%\n <\/td>\n $308,400\n <\/td>\n 69.00\n <\/td>\n 11\/1\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Coming out of the dreaded draw of the fourteenth gate will be this Bay Gelding sired by Bernardini<\/strong>.  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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good luck to all\nowners and horses!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skippy\u2019s Watch List<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2-Jabuk Alpaca:<\/strong>  Has never lost a race in five starts.  Will he make it six in a row?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13-Teslagrad:<\/strong> The\nwinner of the G3, Merry Christmas here in Vermont.  Will he get a Valentine too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14-Slash Dot Murder:<\/strong> Coming off a win in the G2, The Ransom. Will he collect more hostages?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarton\u2019s Long Shot<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11-Florida Affairs:<\/strong>  This 15\/1 choice in the field continues to\nimprove and he ran fourth here in Vermont in the G3, Merry Christmas.  He could upset some horses in this field if\nhe can gracefully bump up in Class and show a little more effort.  The distance looks good for him here and I\nthink he deserves a spot on some of my exotic bets when I head to the windows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vermont (VT) Saturday, February 13, 2021 — 2:20:00 PM EST | Race ID : 2589546      VERMONT IS 4 LOVERS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83333,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/83333"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54307"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54324,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54307\/revisions\/54324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}