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Vicar's in Trouble returns home for Super Derby
He had everything his own way, though, in the August 2 West Virginia Derby, but was simply outfinished by two better horses -- Tapiture and Candy Boy. Vicar's in Trouble will be reunited Saturday with Rosie Napravnik, who was aboard Tapiture at Mountaineer and has guided Vicar's in Trouble to all three career wins. Jessica's Star, who captured the Iowa Derby by a length, enters off a second-place finish to the returning East Hall in the $300,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown. The latter snapped a three-race win streak for Jessica's Star, who landed the Prairie Mile before the Grade 3 triumph over Vicar's in Trouble. East Hall, a 9-1 winner of the Ohio Derby, placed in three stakes at Gulfstream earlier this year, including a third in the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year's Day. Likely to keep the pressure on Vicar's in Trouble is fellow Louisiana-bred Ide Be Cool, who began his career with seven straight wins, including four state-bred stakes. That skein was halted in the $100,000 Super Derby Prelude on August 2, where the Ide gelding retreated to second in his first outing against open company. Victory Nor Defeat is a promising colt making his graded stakes debut for trainer Ralph Nicks. The Gulfstream-based son of Unbridled's Song was a deep-closing winner against maiden and allowance company at the Miami track going a one-turn mile, did not threaten when trying the grass, and ran out of real estate in the $90,000 Cherokee Run going 6 1/2 furlongs two back.
Other leading contenders include Benwill, hero of the $60,000 John Henry at Evangeline Downs in April; Red Strike, a winner in three of five starts since being claimed by trainer Tom Amoss for $40,000 in March; and Coalport, a multiple stakes winner on turf. A competitive renewal of the $75,000 River Cities, a 1 1/16-mile turf fixture for fillies and mares, features recent stakes winners Sassy Kitten, Malibu Yankee, and Hot Tempo. Queenie Vic and Miss Addison, second and third, respectively, in the 2013 River Cities, are also joined by the stakes-placed fillies Synapse and Anahauc. Two-year-olds will be in action in the $75,000 Sunday Silence and $75,000 Happy Ticket, both over a mile on turf. It'll Be Fine and Task Force Glory recently ran one-two in a grass maiden at Indiana Grand, while My Point Exactly invades from Gulfstream after a 10 1/2-length maiden score on the dirt. Locally-based contenders include dirt allowance winner Sharon's Boy and the turf maiden scorer Serious Fun. Likely contenders in the Happy Ticket, for fillies, are the Mike Maker-trained pair of La Rambla, a neck second in a turf maiden at Indiana Grand last time, and Know It All Anna, claimed by Maker after a three-length maiden win at Saratoga for a $50,000 tag. Gulfstream allowance scorer Naval Command, turf maiden winners Five Hearts and Four of a Kind, and Evangeline maiden claiming graduate Zelda Can Dance also look like potential players.
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