Blind Luck's Style Fits for Vanity (Video)
Once again the winner of the $250,000 Vanity Handicap (Grade I) won in last-to-first fashion, as Blind Luck swung wide to pass all five rivals through the stretch as the 9-to-5 second choice and edged 7-to-5 favorite Switch by half a length at the wire.
Blind Luck’s win was reminiscent of the past three editions of the Vanity, when Zenyatta stormed down the center of the track through the lane to victory after being dead last down the back stretch.
“I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t have much ground to make up and I couldn’t get her tucked in the way I wanted to,” said jockey Garrett Gomez of the slow early pace that saw the first half mile run in 50.1. “She loves to run in the lane and she has a heck of a turn of foot.”
The final time of 1:50.4 was the slowest Vanity ever in its 60th running, resulting in a bunched field at the finish with just three lengths separating all six runners.
“I think Garrett was a little bit closer today than he ordinarily would have been and the only thing I said to him before the race was to try to watch the pace and see what happens,” said trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. “I think Bob (Baffert) did a great job trying to slow the pace down with his speed filly (American Story).”
Despite setting the slow pace, American Story faded to last behind Miss Match, St Trinians and She’s Cheeky.
Last year’s three-year-old champion has now won 11-of-20 career starts and pushed her earnings over $2.8 million. This was her first race off of a dirt surface in over a year, but the daughter of Pollard’s Vision will likely return to dirt for her next start looking for a repeat victory in the $750,000 Delaware Handicap (Grade II) on July 16.
The other option would be to run at Del Mar over their synthetic Polytrack surface.
“I’m not opposed to the synthetic, I just think early in the year she might not have gotten tracks that she liked,” said Hollendorfer of Blind Luck, who had run second five straight times prior to winning her last two. “Her feet might have been bugging her a little bit too. She wasn’t just quite 100 percent, but I think she is today.”
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