A. P.'s Glory Blazes in Impressive Debut

A good juvenile performance during the summer is always a proverbial breath of fresh air for any on-hand racing fan, but on Friday it was more of a gust of wind walloping onlookers in their faces as A. P.’s Glory barreled past in her debut to win wire-to-wire by a glib 7½ lengths. A homebred of Curtis Green trained under the savvy supervision of trainer Jimmy DiVito, the daughter of Mineshaft was ridden to victory by Rosemary Homeister, Jr.

“She’s a classy little filly,” Homeister said. “I had been working her and Jimmy had her really well prepared. She was a little green around the quarter-pole, but that’s because she was out there on her own. Then, once I asked her she gave me more. She has a great head on her shoulders and I think she’ll actually stretch out and go longer. I really like her.”

 

Earlier in the meet another DiVito-trained Green homebred Tulira’s Star made a similarly noteworthy debut. The victory was so impressive it caught the eye of ownership syndicate Team Valor International, to which she was subsequently sold for an undisclosed price. According to DiVito, A. P.’s Glory was outworking Tulira’s Star in the mornings, but was not ready for a race at that time.

DiVito has traditionally done an impeccable job with 2-year-olds and 2014 has once again been a testament to that prowess.   “It’s preparation,” he said succinctly.  “You take them to the track and try to teach them everything.   In the morning you do the best you can; you take them to the gate a few more times than someone may think is correct.  You prepare them mentally and physically for the races. Then, if they can run, they will do well first time out.”

A daughter of Horse of the Year Mineshaft, whose offspring often come into hand later on in their careers, out of a mare by the precocious and swift Honour and Glory, A. P.’s Glory has an intriguing balance to her pedigree.  “I’ve never had a Mineshaft.  I thought they didn’t have too much speed, but this one has shown it early on,” DiVito said.  “She’s a very smart horse with a good mind so far.  She can be aggressive, but she needs that aggression when she runs.  I’ll work her eight to 10 days from now and we’ll see where we are.”