Perkins high on Vengeful Wildcat

New Farm’s Vengeful Wildcat has made just one career start, and won by just a neck in that, but he’s likely to draw considerable attention in Sunday’s $100,000 Tyro Stakes.

“That was a tough group he met in the maiden race,” said trainer Ben Perkins Jr. “But I knew he would run well. Marquez (jockey Carlos Marquez Jr.) worked him last month, and then came back to work him again, so I knew the colt had something.”

Vengeful Wildcat went off at 20-1 in that July 5 maiden event, a huge price considering the history of the Perkins family in 2-year-old races.

“Ebby Novak bought him back as a yearling,” Perkins said of the New Farm owner who bred Vengeful Wildcat. “He looked like he had talent. And then he trained well.

“But he was a little behind in his training, and he didn’t get to the track until the beginning of May,” Perkins said. “The others in the field had been training or running since Florida, and I guess people just overlooked him.”

Perkins, who has won the Tyro with Unzipped (1987) and Wild Zone (1992) would like another trophy in this prep for the Grade 3 Sapling (Sept. 4) because of Vengeful Wildcat’s dam.

“He’s out of Wild Snitch,” Perkins said, talking about a fast New Farm filly also trained by Perkins. “She could really run. She won the Sorority in 2002, and then got hurt in the Miss Woodford Stakes on Haskell Day the next year. She had a condylar fracture, and she was saved because Dr. Patty Hogan did a fantastic job.

“It would be great for Mr. Novak if she could produce a stakes winner.”

Wild Snitch produced a colt in 2006 who looked like the real thing, but Wild Proof could do no better than fifth in the 2008 Sapling after breaking his maiden by nearly 13 lengths here.