Horse Racing News is the source of thoroughbred racing information with horse racing odds, betting tips, racing picks, race results, and handicapping. Latest news and articles on top horse racing contenders, jockeys, trainers, three-year-olds, race tracks, and major stakes races such as the Triple Crown races: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes as well as the Breeders' Cup horse races.Visionaire Wins Gotham Stakes at Foggy Aqueduct
Posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008
Ridden by jockey Jose Lezcano, Visionaire made a late run and won by a nose in the $250,000 Gotham Stakes, a prep race for the 2008 Kentucky Derby for 3-year-olds, on Saturday, March 8, at foggy and sloppy Aqueduct.
Owned by Team Valor International and Vision Racing, Visionaire was coming off a 3rd place finish behind Pyro, one of the leading 2008 Kentucky Derby contenders, in the Risen Star Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds February 9.
Trained by Michael Matz, Visionaire raced 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.60 and paid $11, $5.60 and $3.80. Texas Wildcatter turned in a game effort while wearing blinkers for the first time and returned $5.70 and $3.50. Larrys Revenge, a distant third behind the top two, paid $10.80 to show.
The Gotham Stakes was a racecaller’s nightmare, as the thick fog obliterated the view from the grandstand and forced 3,271 on-track fans to watch the race unfold through various television angles.
Visionaire cleared things up and earned his first stakes victory worth $150,000. Visionaire has three victories in five starts with earnings of $228,260 and has never been out of the money.
Team Valor may point him to the $750,000 Wood Memorial (gr. I) for three-year-olds at nine furlongs to be run on Aqueduct’s main track on Saturday, April 5. The Wood Memorial is New York’s last major prep for the 2008 Kentucky Derby, which will be run on May 3 at Churchill Downs.
Completing the lineup of the Gotham Stakes field are: Roman Emperor, Ling Ling Qi, Holidaze, Southern Terminus, Saratoga Russell and Giant Moon. Laysh Laysh Laysh was scratched.
"Visionaire Wins Gotham Stakes at Foggy Aqueduct" was posted on Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Aqueduct, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News, Stakes Races, USA Horse Racing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Previous Horse Racing News Entry:
Commentator Takes the Richter Scale Handicap at Gulfstream Park
Next Horse Racing News Entry:
Pyro Takes Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds