Vexor, the only graded stakes winner in the lineup will headline the Spectacular Bid Stakes at Gulfstream Park
The Grade 2 Nashua winner, 2-year-old Vexor is headed to make his sixth start of his debut season in the Spectacular Bid Stakes on 3 December, 2011, at Gulfstream Park over a distance of six furlongs on dirt restricted for 2 –year-old colts.
Traditionally the Spectacular Bid Stakes has been the first stakes of the Gulfstream Park meet for 3-year-olds only but this time around due to a little shift in the meet’s schedule, the Spectacular Bid Stakes now serve as a race for 2-year-old juvenile
colts on the opening day of the meet.
The Spectacular Bid offers a purse of $100,000 and the six furlong dash has drawn in a field of eight. Among the eight juvenile colts there is only one graded stakes winner and that is John C. Kimmel trained Vexor.
The lone graded stakes winner in the Spectacular Bid Stakes is bound to draw attention, but on paper the race looks like an extremely tough one.
The GoldMark Farm owned Florida bred son of Wildcat Heir, out of mare Real Clever Trick by Yes It’s True, Vexor broke his maiden at Saratoga in his second attempt at about five and a half furlongs on 10 August, 2011.
The juvenile colt finished second in his first attempt at Belmont Park at about five furlongs on dirt. Saratoga’s dirt seemed to have suited him as he covered the five and a half furlong in 1 minute and 4.04 seconds.
Next up was the biggest race for juvenile colts at Saratoga, the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes but Vexor couldn’t realize the magnitude of the situation and finished a dismal eighth at seven furlongs to winner Currency Swap.
“He’s a horse that has a particular dislike for ‘off’ racetracks. If you look at his two races where the tracks were muddy or sloppy, like the Hopeful or the Breeders’ Cup races, he didn’t even try,” Kimmel said. “It’s unfortunate. His races on either side
of those races were all good.
Vexor went on to win the Grade 2 Nashua Stakes, but couldn’t make much of an impact in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint where he finished an unplaced ninth.
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