Vault Wins Ruffian With Powerful Stretch Rally

Vault capitalized on a patient ride by jockey Joel Rosario, rallying from last of six older fillies and mares to overtake Water White from the outside in deep stretch before powering home a 1 3/4-length winner in Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Ruffian going a one-turn mile at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Vault, a Pennsylvania bred trained by Brad Cox making just her second career graded stakes start, was unhurried breaking from the inside post, content to let Gibberish lead the field through the opening quarter-mile in 23.57 seconds and the half in 47.24 over the fast main track.

Taking back under Rosario, Vault saved ground entering the turn as 6-5 favorite Lake Avenue temporarily took command over Water White. Nearing the top of the stretch, Rosario tipped out his charge, as Gibberish and Water White were kept to the inside and Lake Avenue pressed on from the outside.

Vault found a seam between Lake Avenue and Water White, splitting the contenders in surging to the front. Water White, encouraged by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., gamely pursued Vault, but the 5-year-old Jump Start mare pulled away in a final time of 1:35.81 to notch her second consecutive win.

“She was a little slow out of there,” Rosario said. “Brad said to let her be comfortable where she was and come with a run and she did. She was pretty amazing.

“I was trying to stay inside, keep away from the dirt [kick back] and save some ground,” he added. “It looked like maybe I could go through inside, but then maybe not. So, I looked to go in between or maybe outside. When they split, I just went right in the middle [inside of Lake Avenue]. It was perfect.”

Owned by Kueber Racing, Barlar, Madaket Stables and Little Red Feather Racing, Vault entered off her first win of her campaign with a 1 3/4-length score against allowance company going 1 1/16 miles on March 27 at Oaklawn Park.

Her first foray over Belmont's Big Sandy was just her second career stakes appearance and first since a sixth-place effort in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher in July at Monmouth Park. She shipped in from her base at Churchill Downs and impressed her connections in her New York debut.

“They had her down in Kentucky and it took us a while to figure her out, but now it looks like we got the wheels spinning finally and she showed it today,” said Dustin Dugas, assistant to Cox. “The guys in Kentucky had her ready to roll. I'll talk to Brad and let him decide where we go next. He'll sit down with the partners and figure out a game plan from there.”

Vault improved to 7-6-2 in 21 career starts. She returned $8.80 on a $2 win wager.

EV Racing Stable's Water White, trained by Rudy Rodriguez, bested Our Super Freak by a length for second.

“I got a perfect trip,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “She got through on the inside and did everything right. We just got beat today. I was happy with it.”

Lake Avenue, Saguaro Row and Gibberish completed the order of finish that saw a finish of 1-thorugh-6 in program numerical order.

The 45th running of the Ruffian is named for the five-time Grade 1-winner and 1976 Hall of Fame inductee who was trained by Frank Whiteley, Jr. Ruffian, the 1974 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly and 1975 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, broke down in a match race against Kentucky Derby-winner Foolish Pleasure in 1975. She is buried in the Belmont infield.

Live racing at Belmont resumes Thursday with a nine-race card that features a 3:05 p.m. Eastern first post.

Starting on May 1, Belmont Park re-opened to a limited number of spectators. All admission must be purchased in advance at nyra.com/belmont/tickets/.

For comprehensive information on health and safety protocols in effect for the Belmont Park spring/summer meet, please visit: https://www.nyra.com/belmont/visit/plan-your-visit.

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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Jump Start Tops 2020 Stallion Award Earners

Runners by Pennsylvania's stallions generated nearly $850,000 in stallion awards in 2020, and a familiar name found himself at the top of the sire list.

The late Jump Start was the Keystone State's leading resident by stallion award earnings, bringing in $172,796.02 for owner Northview Stallion Station Inc.

The owner of a Pennsylvania-based stallion at the time of a foal's conception is eligible for stallion awards generated by that foal. Stallion owners receive 10 percent of the purse earned when a registered Pennsylvania-bred and- sired runner finishes in the top three in any pari-mutuel race within the state.

Jump Start was Pennsylvania's leading sire by general earnings in 2020, with 155 runners and 71 winners making nearly $3.3 million.

He accounted for two of the top five earners of stallion awards, led by It's a Journey, who generated $10,310 in that category last year. The veteran campaigner had her best season yet in 2020, featuring victories in the Mrs. Penny Stakes and an optional claiming race at Parx Racing.

Jump Start also had Fire's Finale add $8,835 in stallion awards. The colt generated awards in two races during his juvenile season, breaking his maiden at Parx, then taking the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes.

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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Associaiton: Wait For It Tops 2020 Incentive Earners

Some things are worth the wait, and for the Uptowncharlybrown gelding Wait for It, a year of anticipation and success saw him finish at the top of the list among earners from the lucrative Pennsylvania-bred and -sired program in 2020.

Now a 6-year-old, Wait for It brought in a combined $191,540 in earnings directly tied to his status as a horse sired and born in the Keystone State, between stakes races restricted to Pennsylvania-breds, breeder's awards, stallion awards, and owner bonuses.

A serious revenue generator for those responsible for practically every phase of his life, Wait for It led the state by Pennsylvania-bred stakes earnings ($91,200), breeder's awards ($67,664), and stallion awards ($16,916).

Wait for It made four of his eight starts last year in his native state, highlighted by a front-running triumph in the Storm Cat Stakes at Parx Racing by 2 1/4 lengths, and the Hard Spun Stakes at Presque Isle Downs, which he won with a later-timed move by 2 1/4 lengths. He also added to his incentive totals with an optional claiming win and an allowance runner-up effort to kick off the season at Parx.

Wait for It races for Uptowncharlybrown Stud LLC, and he was bred by Fantasy Lane Stable. He is out of the winning Posse mare Kimberley Diamond, who is herself a Pennsylvania-bred.

Two other horses raked in six-figure incentive earnings in 2020, both by the late perennial leading Pennsylvania sire Jump Start.

Its a Journey brought in $109,550 on the strength of a campaign highlighted by a dramatic closing victory by a neck in the Mrs. Penny Stakes at Parx Racing. The 8-year-old also won an optional claiming race at Parx and finished second in another to add to her totals for the season.

Bred by Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Szeyller, Its a Journey races for Gap View Stables and Jagger Inc.

Joining Its a Journey in the six-figure club is Fire's Finale, a standout juvenile who finished his season with a closing score in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx, after breaking his maiden at the same track in his previous start.

Fire's Finale runs as a homebred for Kennwood Racing, which owns the colt in partnership with Degaetano and Pastore, Inc.

 

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Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented by Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: Northview Gets A Jump Start In Stallion Awards

Pennsylvania boasts one of the country's most lucrative incentive programs, and two farms that have invested heavily in stallions reaped the biggest rewards during the first 11 months of the previous year.

Northview Stallion Station, which closed its Pennsylvania operation at the end of last year's breeding season, led its peers comfortably by combined breeder and stallion awards, with $272,745.60.

What made Northview's standing especially impressive was that its incentive earnings came exclusively through stallion awards. That was helped greatly by the late sire Jump Start, a perennial leader in the Keystone State, who once again finished atop the sire list by earnings a year after his death.

Among Jump Start's best runners of 2020 was the Pennsylvania-bred colt Fire's Finale, who capped off his season with a closing score in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at Parx Racing. He earned $108,315 on the racetrack during his juvenile season.

Glenn Brok of Diamond B Farm finished second by combined awards, earning $197,405.12. The majority of those incentives came from breeders' awards, but the Diamond B operation stands several of the state's top stallions.

The biggest contributor to Diamond B's stallion awards in 2020 was veteran Talent Search, whose runners were led by stakes-placed Final Shot. Diamond B also stands Uptowncharlybrown who has two seasons on offer in the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association's stallion season auction.

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