Imperial Hint Strolls to Victory in Vosburgh Stakes

It was billed as a grade 1 event, but the $350,000 Vosburgh Stakes (G1) proved to be little more than a top-level workout with a winner's purse of $192,500 and a free trip to the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for the dynamic Imperial Hint.



Supplying even more evidence that he may emerge as the horse to beat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Imperial Hint cruised to a 1 1/4-length victory over Mr. Crow while under a hand ride by Javier Castellano as the 1-5 favorite ($2.40) Sept. 29 at Belmont Park.

"He's some horse," said 85-year-old owner Raymond Mamone, who has been in the game for 42 years and is enjoying his first taste of grade 1 success with Imperial Hint. "He moves so beautifully. He does everything naturally and easily."

Easy was indeed the operative word in the Breeders' Cup Challenge race, as Imperial Hint was never really pushed. He broke quickly and showed the way through a first quarter in :22.09 and opened a clear lead on the turn through a half-mile in :44.37. The outcome was never in doubt after that, as he covered the six furlongs in 1:08.27 while geared down over a blazing fast surface. The victory secured a "Win and You're In" spot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, a race in which Imperial Hint finished second last year at Del Mar.

"He's a very nice horse," Castellano said. "You can do whatever you think. You can go to the lead, or come off the pace a little bit. Today I felt he was the fastest horse. I tried to dictate the pace and control the race. He's a special horse. We were looking for a little workout and looking for the big picture—the Breeders' Cup. I just enjoyed the ride."



Part of the reason for the decisive Vosburgh victory was Imperial Hint's talent, as the 5-year-old Imperialism horse extended his record to 12 wins in 18 starts with earnings of $1,402,655. He has now posted back-to-back grade 1 wins after a victory in the July 28 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. Another was the dubious quality of his six rivals, three of whom were claimed in their previous starts, two who were no better than third in the $100,000 Tale of the Cat Stakes, and one who was last seen in a starter allowance on the turf.

That combined to give trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. exactly what he wanted from a final Breeders' Cup prep, even though he admitted to a case of the nerves during the race. In his words, he felt more pressure going into the Vosburgh than the Breeders' Cup.

"You always worry, especially when you are 1-5 or 1-9, but the way he did it was good. I was a little worried at the end, hoping Javier didn't hold him back too much, but the track is fast, and I couldn't ask for anything else from this little horse. He was great," Carvajal said. "We wanted to try to get an easy race before the Breeders' Cup as a prep, because you don't really want to go into that race having to run really hard, and I was happy the way the field for this race came out."

The Vosburgh was Imperial Hint's fourth victory from a five-start campaign this year, which began with a win in the March 25 Horse Races Now Sprint Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and included June 8 True North Stakes (G2) win at Belmont before his Vanderbilt score. Though his two races at Churchill Downs resulted in a 12th in the 2016 Pat Day Mile (G3) and a sixth earlier this year in the seven-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes (G2) on a sloppy track, Carvajal is unfazed by the prospect of racing in Louisville again.

"He ran a quick half-mile (:44.09) the first time (in the Pat Day) and the other race was in the slop," Carvajal said. "He'll be fine. (Six furlongs) is his game."

Though Imperial Hint was bred in Florida by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds, his dam, the Lahint mare Royal Hint, was bred and raced by Mamone. After her first few foals failed to turn out a solid runner, Mamome said he gave the filly to Shade Tree and then bought Imperial Hint privately as a 2-year-old.

Video: Vosburgh S. (G1)