The 18th Running of The Victory Ride-G3
July 10, 2021 12:40
BEL Race #2 $150.000
3YO F 122 Lbs 61/2 Furlongs Dirt
Track Record-1:14.50 (Not Trippin Now-2021)
Stakes Record-1:15.35 (You Gotta Believe-2016)
Three seconds. That was all it took to determine the exacta in the $150.000 G3 Victory Ride for 3YO fillies at BEL on Saturday. Three seconds out of the gate, Slckmoment Laga, Moment Of Madness o/o Slick And Quick, established a length and a half lead over Mycrazyxgirlfriend and continued on for the remainder of the 6.5 furlong dirt sprint; completing the journey in a sharp 1:15.41.
After an opening quarter in :22.79, Slckmoment Laga was ahead of Mycrazyxgirlfriend by two lengths. The latter, on the the inside of Dialing and Jedidiah, held about a half length advantage over her second flight companions. The top two continued through a half in :45.61, still separated by two lengths, while Dialing held third racing just outside Mycrazyxgirlfriend.
At the top of the “Big Sandy” stretch, Slckmoment Laga was still going strong up top and Dialing had gained equal footing with Mycrazyxgirlfriend while racing about a length and a half behind. Ms Joyce, Shes A Freak, and Smiling Lucy all began putting in their runs about two lengths behind the second and third place runners. With a furlong to go, Dialing stuck her nose in front of Mycrazyxgirlfriend; however, that duo was still struggling to make up ground on the Night Rider Stables‘ filly up front. Shes A Freak was now a six-wide 4th, Ms Joyce was down on the rail in 5th, and Smiling Lucy was trying to look for running room in 6th.
After six furlongs in 1:09.19, Slckmoment Laga was still about a length in front but she had drifted out to around the four path with a pack of horses all trying to run her down and running out of time to do it. At the wire, they were lined-up almost seven across the track and the result would need the help of the judges to determine the outcome. When they took the photo sign down, Slckmoment Laga had her number put up in 1st; Mycrazyxgirlfriend was 2nd; Ms Joyce and Smiling Lucy were a dead heat for third; Shes A Freak was 5th. The top five were all separated by a half length in totality; another neck back in 6th was Dialing who beat Great Mojo by only half a length.
Slckmoment Laga improved her record to 9-4-2-0 for career earnings of $565.000; the winner also picked-up four BC F&M Sprint points for her G3 win. Mycrazyxgirlfriend took home two BC points for her second-place finish while both Ms Joyce and Smiling Lucy got a single BC point for their third-place runs. In a race where the exacta was determined three seconds after the start, there sure was a lot of drama. Slckmoment Laga is the 2nd filly saddled by Night Rider Stables to win the G3 Victory Ride and the 4th winner of the race that was booted home by jockey J. Velazquez.
Congratulations to the winner and thank you to all of the participants for a stirring renewal of The Victory Ride-G3!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
