Imperial Hint sizzles in final Vosburgh work
ELMONT, N.Y. – The main track at Parx may have been slow on Saturday afternoon, but top sprinter Imperial Hint made it look fast Sunday morning when he worked a half-mile in 46.40 seconds in preparation for a scheduled start in Saturday’s Grade 1, $350,000 Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont Park.
The work was the fastest of 18 at the distance over a track labeled “good.” The second-fastest half-mile time Sunday morning was 48.11 seconds.
“That’s just him,” trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. said Monday morning. “That’s just holding him. If I let him run, he’ll probably go 45 from the pole. That is his typical workout.”
Imperial Hint, who put forth a breathtaking performance winning the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga in July, is likely to be an extremely heavy favorite in the Vosburgh, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3.
Mr. Crow, sixth in last year’s Vosburgh as the 5-2 second choice, is confirmed to run. Silver Ride, Still Krz, and Sightforsoreeyes, none of whom has ever competed in a graded stakes, are likely to run. Maniacal is possible. Trainer Phil Serpe said he would consider running Weekend Hideaway in a short field if the track is wet. There is no rain forecast this week beyond Wednesday.
