Vyjack Sweeps to Victory in the Gotham
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Since Vyjack won the Jerome (G2) at Aqueduct in January, trainer Rudy Rodriguez has had a plan. The plan included two months
between races to allow for a bit of rest from racing, and time to train for a
campaign in New York. The plan has been working
perfectly as Vyjack remained undefeated in four starts. Vyjack paid $6.70 to
win as the second betting choice, so many people expected him to be victorious
in the Gotham (G3) today. What was
not expected was the explosive stretch run from the Pick Six Racing gelding,
after he had dropped far back to eighth place down the backstretch.
Rodriguez was asked how he
felt when Vyjack was so far behind on a track that had been favoring
front-runners all day. He said, “I was hoping to see him that way. That’s why
we gave Joel (jockey Rosario) the mount. He was able to relax him and when he
asked him to go he did.”
In the time between races,
Rodriguez tried to train Vyjack to relax and come from behind. As a former jockey he frequently gets
up on Vyjack in the morning and he commented that, “I put him behind horses a
couple times and I couldn’t hold him.”
As a matter of fact Rodriguez
was a jockey from 1992 to 2011 and in that time he won 221 races and purses of
$6.8 million. His biggest victory as a jockey came when he won the 2008
Suburban Handicap on Frost Giant. However as a trainer, he has been
spectacular. His first win came in 2010, and since then he has already won 351
times for $12.2 million.
Back to the plans for
Vyjack, Rodriguez said, “This is our plan from the beginning, running in the
Wood, I have to discuss with the owner. But he’s fresh, we gave him two months
off for this race and we’ll get him ready for the next race and I think we are
doing a good job.”
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