Vanity Invitational Handicap 2011 - Blind Luck wins under Garrett Gomez, Switch runner-up
Vanity Invitational Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to mares and fillies above three years of age. This Grade 1 race is run over a distance of 9 furlongs for a purse of $250,000. This year’s race took place at Hollywood Park Racetrack
in Inglewood, California, on Saturday June 18th 2011.
This year’s field included Miss Match, last year’s vanity runner-up, St Trinians, American Story, Switch, She’s Cheeky, and, Blind Luck. The contestants most likely to win were Switch and favourite, Blind Luck, both with eleven graded victories under their
belts.
As the race begun, Jerry Hollendorfer’s Blind Luck set a slow pace for herself while American Story led the pack and crossed the first half mile in just 50.24 seconds.
However, Blind Luck soon gained momentum and went from last to first place at the sixth furlong when jockey Garrett Gomez asked her to speed up. She won the race by half a length in a decent time of 1 minute 50.89 seconds.
Ridden by Gomez for the third consecutive time she galloped across the final furlong in a mere 11.40 seconds. Strong competitor, Switch, finished second followed by Miss Match, who finished in third place.
Hall of Fame trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer said:
"I was a little nervous [because of the pace] but I think Garrett was a little bit closer today than he ordinarily would have been”.
He said that the only advice he gave to jockey, Garrett Gomez, was to ‘watch the pace’, which Gomez did and enabled Blind Luck to win. He further said that Blind Luck’s next big race would either be the $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 16 or the $300,000
Clement Hirsch at Del Mar on August 6.
Winning jockey Garrett Gomez said:
“The one thing that I was real confident in was that I only had a length to catch up to Switch. So I felt if we turned for home together or me giving her two or three lengths, I could still run her down. [Blind Luck] loves to run in the lane and she has
a heck of a turn of foot”.
Runner-up, Switch too has had a commendable career so far. Despite her loss, her connections are still eyeing the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic at Churchill Downs in November, to be run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles.
Prior to this too, Blind Luck, has had an impressive career. She had just emerged victorious from the Unrivaled Belle in the La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs on 6th May 2011. Before that she finished second in five consecutive races including
the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. Whichever route her career now takes, one thing is for sure, this three year old is here to stay with her strong performances.
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