Massive pacer Vintage Blue is an iron horse who thrives on a diet of constant racing. He has raced 138 times for 16 wins and 34 placings. But he has yet to break through to win a metropolitan-class event.
However, he holds an unusual record --- having a 68-inch hopple, the longest in the State.
And this aids him in his long-striding action which helped him to win the $9360 Linoleum Pace over 2130m at Gloucester Park on Friday night for his owner and trainer Lang Inwood.
Pacing enthusiasts well remember how they marvelled at the long 63-inch hopples worn by Jofess when he beat The Falcon Strike to win the 2004 Interdominion championship final at Gloucester Park.
A measure of Vintage Blu’s fitness and enjoyment of racing is shown in the fact that he has contested 60 events in the past 66 weeks. Inwood said that he purchased Vintage Blu, now an eight-year-old, for about $4000 or $5000 last autumn, and since then the gelding has had 34 starts for him for five wins, five placings and $36,092.
Vintage Blu was a $9.80 chance from out wide at barrier eight on Friday night when Stuart McDonald restrained back to the rear before sending him forward with 900m to travel and getting to the front 380m from home on his way to winning by a length from the pacemaker and $1.65 favourite Monterio.
Vintage Blu is by American sire Betterthancheddar, and is out of the Falcon Seelster mare Soaring Franco, who produced Tell Me Tales, who earned $360,870 from 20 wins and seven placings from 32 starts, with her victories including two group 1 successes for Vicbred fillies and mares, five group 3 features and victory in the group 2 Robin Dundee Stakes at Menangle in February 2019.
Pacers with their names beginning with S completed the nine-event program with Sebastian James, Sugar Delight and Siangdi winning the final three events.
Sebastian James, the $1.50 favourite trained and driven by Dylan Egerton-Green, had to work hard early from out wide at barrier eight when he raced three wide before forging to the front after 650m and then setting the pace and sprinting home over the final 800m in 56.6sec. to win comfortably from Loch Tay ($6.50) and Watch Me Wave ($4.60).
“I had to put the hammer down and he had to bullock his way to the front,” said Egerton-Green. The Captain Crunch four-year-old has a record of six wins, three placings and $113,715, and is on the doorstep of a splendid career.
Trainer Cameron Ross and driver Jocelyn Young combined to win the Nova 93.7 Pace over 2130m with $5.40 chance Sugar Delight, who was first out from barrier five and led for the opening 450m before sitting behind the speedy $3.10 chance Hunger Strike and then finishing strongly to get up in the final 20m to beat the frontrunner by a metre at a 1.56.3 rate.
New South Wales-bred seven-year-old mare Siangdi, the $3.50 second fancy in the final event for part-owner and trainer Simon Lowings and reinsman Shannon Suvaljko, made the most of the prized No. 1 barrier when she set a slow early pace before dashing over the final 400m in 28.1sec. to beat the breeze horse Tartan Robyn ($11), with the $2.10 favourite Hi Suga Rush an unlucky fourth after trailing the pacemaker and being hopelessly blocked for a clear passage in the final stages of the 1730m event.
