Vamo a Galupiar splashed home to take the Santa Ana Stakes
The 5-year-old mare, Vamo a Galupiar, was terrific on turf in the Grade 2, $150,000 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita Park on 25 March, 2012, when she was ridden by jockey, Mike Smith, for the first time, showed how gutsy she is when she galloped her heart
in the middle of the track to down Jerry M. Fanning trained Wild Mia by half a length.
The Chilean-bred was sent at the odds of 7 to 1, but set those odds aside and capitalized on the room she was given, after being kept behind at the rear of the field. Vamo a Galupiar, which actually means “Let’s Go Gallop” turned it around as she started
from a less ideal positon.
Broke from the rails, Vamo a Galupiar overcame the early struggle by letting the pack go by and settling her own position by staying off the pace, and that is exactly what she did, and over the 1 1/8 mile race, she had ample time to creep up on the leaders,
and still be at a striking distance.
Hovering at the back, Vamo a Galupiar was still sixth at the eighth pole, but Smith was all so impressive with his urging and the way the mare responded was even more interesting as the chemistry sparked on the field. The strides became longer, and Vamo
a Galupiar inched closer to her goal in an evenly matched field.
Trained by Neil D. Drysdale for owner Robert S. Evans, Vamo a Galupiar got control of the race in the final strides and got home with the winning time of 1 minute and 48.98 seconds under a rainstorm which make things difficult for the runner, and changed
the surface from firm to good.
"And that's what she did today," Smith told HRTV. "She's superior on soft ground. I was able to get clear and she did the rest."
"At one stage, I wasn't sure she would get there but she dug in and proved her worth," he added.
The lightly raced Proud Citizen mare recently won the Megahertz Stakes at about a mile on Santa Anita’s turf course on 21 January, 2012.
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