Viburnum, Value Engineering Win Stakes on GP Tapeta

Dede McGehee's 4-year-old homebred Viburnum , unraced since mid-September, became a stakes winner for the first time in her return with a 2 1/4-length triumph in the $100,000 Via Borghese Stakes Dec. 17 at Gulfstream Park.

The seventh running of the Via Borghese for fillies and mares ages 3 and up served as a co-headliner Saturday with the $100,000 H. Allen Jerkens Handicap, also for 3-year-olds and up. Both races were rained off the grass to the all-weather Tapeta course.

Under an ideal ride from Irad Ortiz Jr., Viburnum ($9.60) covered 1 1/2 miles in 2:27.64. The Via Borghese was carded for 1 3/8 miles on the turf.

"I was concerned about the Tapta (but) I liked the longer distance. She can go all day, so the mile and a half was a little bit better for us," winning trainer Kelsey Danner said. "I didn't have to give him any instructions. He knows what he's doing."

Ortiz settled Viburnum in fifth as Beside Herself , the even-money favorite trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, led the field of eight through a quarter-mile in 23.93 seconds and a half in 48.35. Viburnum was still unhurried, trailing all but two horses after six furlongs went in 1:13.46.

"I had a beautiful trip, a perfect trip," Ortiz said. "I tried to follow the right horses, and as soon as I hit the clear, she started to pick it up turning for home."

Starship Mallomar , who had stalked Beside Herself from the gate, moved up to make a bid leaving the backstretch and forged a short lead as Ortiz started rolling on Viburnum in the clear three wide. Viburnum ranged up to the leaders on the turn, straightened for home in front and sprinted clear through the stretch.

"I thought she was doing it easy," Danner said. "She's got a nice long stride, and she tends to lope along, anyway. It looked like Luis on the lead was kind of struggling a little bit around the turn, and I kind of thought it was our race to lose at that point."

Lisheen closed late to get second, followed by Flying Fortress , Beside Herself , Starship Mallomar , Good American , Champagne Ivy , and Treasure of War .

"It's hard to win on the lead on the Tapeta, and I was afraid when they took it off," Pletcher said of grade 3-placed Beside Herself. "We thought about it a little bit and decided to go ahead and run, and now we know she doesn't really care for it."

Viburnum, a bay daughter of grade 1-winning millionaire Include , put together back-to-back wins in the summer at Delaware Park and Kentucky Downs, the latter going 1 5/16 miles Sept. 1. Off those efforts, Danner brought her back in the AGS Ladies Marathon (G3T) Sept. 13 at Kentucky Downs, where she wound up fifth.

"I wheeled her back too soon, probably," Danner said.

Danner indicated Viburnum would get the rest of the winter off before being pointed for a spring campaign.

Bred in Kentucky by her owner, Viburnum is one of 10 winners produced from the 25-year-old Dixieland Band mare Quite a Rapper . Twelve of the dam's 14 foals have started, and five have earned black type, topped by three stakes winners. The dam's two unraced foals are a Hootenanny  3-year-old filly named Hip Hop Hootenanny and an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Klimt  .

Video: Via Borghese S. (BT)

Value Engineering Pays Dividends

Later on Saturday, Value Engineering  paid immediate dividends for new owners Phil Forte and Michael Hui when he took the Jerkens. The winner was a bargain $35,000 purchase by Hui from the ELiTE consignment to the Horses of Racing Age Sale at Keeneland in November.

The Jerkens, which honors the memory of the beloved Hall of Fame trainer, was transferred from turf to Tapeta and cut back in distance from two miles to 1 5/8 miles due to an early afternoon rainstorm.

Value Engineering was also making his first start on an all-weather surface after racing exclusively on turf and compiling a record of 3-2-7 in 15 starts.

"I was hoping it would stay two miles, which was my concern more than the surface change," said trainer Michael Maker, who also trains runner-up Wicked Fast. "A Lemon Drop Kid  out of a Dynaformer  mare says two miles."

That mare, the late Frozen Treat, is the dam of nine starters from as many foals, with Value Engineering her second stakes winner.

The D. J. Stable-bred Value Engineering ($12) managed to get the job done at 1 5/8 miles under a perfectly rated ride by Jose Ortiz, who rated the former Chad Brown trainee a few lengths off pacesetter Basso , who cleared the field from the outside post to run the first half-mile in 52.48 seconds. Basso continued to show the way along the backstretch under Junior Alvarado while stalked by Sole Volante  on the outside and 2-1 favorite Another Mystery  on the inside with Value Engineering looming in fourth on the outside.

Sole Volante took over on the far turn but was quickly joined by Value Engineering on the turn into the homestretch, with stablemate Wicked Fast in pursuit. Value Engineering kicked in through the stretch to draw away to victory by 1 1/2 lengths in 2:43.01.

"I thought the race was devoid of speed except for (Basso)," Maker said. "(Value Engineering) had good position and kicked on when it counted."

"When we hit the half-mile pole, I just asked him a little bit, and he was there for me. I was very comfortable," Ortiz echoed.

Wicked Fast also gave a solid stretch kick to finish second under Miguel Vasquez, three-quarters of a length ahead of Barberini , who made a strong inside drive to finish third under Jorge Ruiz.

Another Mystery faded in the stretch to finish sixth. Agitare , the 5-2 second choice, broke awkwardly from the gate before fighting jockey Julien Leparoux's efforts to get him to settle while racing extremely wide, finishing in seventh.

Maker said Value Engineering could return in the $200,000 John B. Connelly Stakes (G3T) Jan. 28 at Sam Houston Race Park or might remain at Gulfstream for a stakes.

Video: H. Allen Jerkens H. (BT)