The Vagrancy Handicap (Grade 3)- $175.000 Purse
AQU- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Dirt
May 18, 2024

The question about Spring Street coming into the Vagrancy Handicap wasn’t whether or not she was capable of winning the race, as certainly she was. Instead, it was whether or not she would show that winning side of her, because we don’t see enough of it. Fortunately for trainer High Voltage, she would be at her best and the resulted in the victory. For this filly, it is her first win in over a year and now we will see if she could string together a bunch of races like this. It’s the first time that both High Voltage and jockey R A Vazquez won this race, congratulations to them! While it may have been wet down at PIM, it was nice and dry at the Big A, and the race was run in a time of 1:15.22. If you wanted to compare this time to the prior editions at BEL, it would be the second fastest in the history of the race. Let’s take a look at it now:

(1/4 Mile- :22.70)- Stick Low goes out to the lead for John Henry, and her lead will be almost a full length over the second place Miss Hennessy, who runs on the rail for Wood Duck Stables. Midnight Star runs third for Smokey Stover and could potentially come between these top two horses. Within a length on the outside, both Mo Mentum Farm’s Flying Bolt and TwinTowersRacing’s Shes So Pure run side by side. Further back, our eventual winner for High Voltage, Spring Street, is about three lengths off the pace, ahead of only Maxmillion Farm’s Great Zipadeedoodah, who is to her outside.

(½ Mile- :45.86, Top of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- At the top of the turn, Miss Hennessy pushes forward and takes the top spot from Stick Low, but that one is able to keep pace with her as they work the turn. Midnight Star remained third and did not make any progress in the turn. She runs evenly with Flying Bolt while Shes So Pure is within a length of them. Meanwhile, R A Vazquez was looking for a lane to bring Spring Street through, and at first it seemed as though the filly was going to come through on the rail. However, Vazquez quickly thought better of that, and instead moved Spring Street to the outside midway through the turn. Had I watched it live, I would have second guessed that move as it happened, but it soon would become the right decision. Great Zipadeedoodah was not having a wonderful day at the back.

(Finish- 1:15.22)- With a furlong to go, Miss Hennessy continued to lead, and one of the horses that were closest to her at the top of the stretch were not taking a run at her. Spring Street moved into second with about 3/4th of a furlong to go and had to make a up a length on the leader. On this day, she would not let anyone down, and would take the lead approaching the wire to score the victory! Miss Hennessy was never in jeopardy of falling out of the top two, as she takes that spot over third place Flyingbolt while Shes So Pure takes the small cut of the purse. Midnight Star, Stick Low, and Great Zipadeedoodah complete the running order.

About The Winner- Spring Street, trained by High Voltage and ridden to victory by R A Vazquez, is a four-year-old filly by Miles Per Gallon and is out of Limonata. She was bred by London Racing as a third quarter two-year-old in California, and was acquired by High Voltage while she was still unraced in an October 2022 private sale for $140.000. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her third in fifteen starts, and her second stake win, each of which are graded. Her career earnings are now $617.600.

Track: Fast
Time: :22³  :45⁴  1:09¹  1:15¹

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 2 – 1 Paid 22.90
$1 Trifecta: 2 – 1 – 7 Paid 181.60

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES