Familiar rivals top Silks Run

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – One year ago, Vision Perfect announced his presence with authority to the local turf-sprint division with a 4 3/4-length victory over pro tem leader Pay Any Price in the Silks Run Stakes.

On Saturday, Vision Perfect will try to defend that title and keep his name atop the division when he faces Pay Any Price and four new shooters in the $75,000 Silks Run, a five-furlong turf race that shares top billing on the 13-race program with its filly counterpart, the $75,000 Captiva Island.

Vision Perfect won four turf stakes overall in 2018, including the Grade 3 Parx Dash in early July and the Janus here on Dec. 29, for which he earned a career-best 106 Beyer Speed Figure. Vision Perfect has shown he can win either on the lead, as he did in the Janus and Tampa Turf Dash four weeks earlier, or from off the pace, the modus operandi he used en route to victory in both the Parx Dash and last year’s Silks Run.

“He’s doing great and the spacing to this race is very good,” said Jason Servis, who trains the late-blooming 7-year-old Vision Perfect for the Mr. Amore Stable.

Pay Any Price has dropped just two of his last seven starts dating back to the 2018 Silks Run, finishing behind Vision Perfect in both those losses. He rebounded from his third-place finish to that nemesis in the Janus to dominate weaker starter-allowance company by 1 3/4 lengths here on Feb. 8.

Among the new faces in the Silks Run are the multiple stakes-winning turf sprint specialist Imprimis and vastly improved Fixed Point.

Imprimis has been idle since finishing fourth, beaten a half-length for second by Vision Perfect, in Parx’s Grade 3 Turf Monster on Sept. 3. The race was supposed to have been a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint for Imprimis, but those plans went awry.

“He came out of that race with some minor bone bruising, and we just decided for the level he’s running at I’d have to do too much with him to try and make the Breeders’ Cup,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “So, we said let’s stop now and get him good and healed up.

“He came back to me from the farm and he’s fresh and ready to go. I’ve worked him a couple times on grass and dirt, and he’s doing really well. I know the race is coming up fast, but if he’s himself he’ll show up.”

Fixed Point has won three of four starts since being haltered by trainer Phil Serpe for $40,000 here last winter, including back-to-back optional claiming races during the current session. Like Pay Any Price, he seems to do his best when on the front end, and he is facing the prospect of a hot pace scenario on Saturday.

Singandcryindubai and Apache Brave complete the field.

Servis will also send out one of the key contenders in the Captiva Island in Samara. Samara posted back-to-back optional claiming wins over the local turf course earlier this winter and is in the best form of her career.

“She’s coming back kind of close, but there’s not anything much left condition-wise for her, so we’ll give it a whirl,” said Servis.

Morticia, beaten three-quarters of a length by the Servis-trained Blue Bahia in the 2018 Captiva Island, tops the competition to Samara. The outing will be Morticia’s first since a second-place finish in the Abundantia Stakes here on Dec. 29.

“She was supposed to run on Pegasus Day, but the race got rained out and moved to the dirt. I did not intend for her to have a three-month vacation,” said trainer Rusty Arnold. “It’s pretty rare for her to be off the board. You bring her over there and she always runs her race.”