Vinery Madison (Grade 1)- $300.000
KEE- For Fillies and Mares Four Years Old and Upward
Seven Furlongs on the Dirt
April 4, 2020

On a great day of racing at KEE, the defending BC Distaff champion, Z Command, made an appearance in the Vinery Madison, a seven furlong Grade 1. This was a change for her, as the last time she ran under a mile was when she ran seven in January 2019. She was successful then, and there was no doubting that she would have a good race here as well. Z Command was made the post time favorite, but all of the horses had very similar odds, suggesting that the bettors felt this was a wide open race. The proud owner of this filly is Smokey Stover, and he wins the race for the first time. Jockey S X Bridgmohan has been successful here, as it is now his third Vinery Madison win. Congratulations to them! The race was won in a time of 1:21.70, and that is one of the better times in the race’s history. Let’s take a look!

(1/4 Mile- :22.74)- From the outside, Truly Deeply Madly goes to the front for her trainer, Jive Inc., after an initial battle with two rivals. Z Command, the eventual race winner from Smokey Stover was one of those two horses, but she would settle into a stalking position by the time they reached this point of the race. The other horse involved was Anyone But Me, and the Patterson Stables filly would eventually become restrained to be fourth, three and a half lengths out. On the rail, First Impression got off to a steady start for Mb Stables and held her ground, inheriting the third spot when Anyone But Me dropped back. Tommy Frazier (John Henry) was held back right from the start, and was five lengths at this point.

(½ Mile- :45.61)- Moving down the backstretch, the field runs in the same formation as they had after two furlongs. Truly Deeply Madly is still out in front, and increased her lead just a bit to now be two lengths. Z Command keeps her in view in the second spot while First Impression runs alongside her on the rail. It’s a gap of two more to Anyone But Me, who towards the end of the backstretch looked like she might make a move on the two in front of her, but either called that off, or didn’t have the legs underneath her to do it. It was two more to Tommy Frazier.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Go)- Truly Deeply Madly still leads, but she had a problem lurking behind her in the form of Z Command. That one had stalked her throughout, and had now positioned herself to make the pass to the outside. She was within a length, and at this point, you had to know she was going to get this win, because this is a horse that excels at longer distances, and if she was already ahead of her chief competition now, it’s good night to everyone else. First Impression, who had run with Z Command the whole race did not make her move at the same time. Anyone But Me and Tommy Frazier still trailed.

(Finish- 1:21.70)- It wasn’t necessary for Z Command to blow by her opposition. Instead, she gradually made ground on Truly Deeply Madly, who maintained a good stride herself. Z Command was too good for these fillies, however, taking over midway through the stretch, and winning by a length. Truly Deeply Madly held her ground to be second, and First Impression stayed in third, but never threatened for more here. Anyone But Me and Tommy Frazier were non-factors.

About the Winner- Z Command, trained by Smokey Stover, and ridden to victory by S X Bridgmohan, is a four year old filly by Good Authority, and is out of Z Broken One. She was bred in the great breeding state of Pennsylvania by Joshua Stables as a yearling, and acquired by Smokey Stover for $575.000 in an August 2019 private sale. Congratulations to the connections! The win is her seventh in 17 starts, and her fifth graded victory, three of which are Grade 1’s. Her career earnings are now $2,762.200.

Track: Fast
Time: :22³  :45³  1:09¹  1:21³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 5 Paid 13.90
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 5 – 1 Paid 51.30

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES