Might pay to back Vip Nation on Veteran's Day card

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Vip Nation doesn’t run very often on turf at Aqueduct, but when she has she’s paid off better than the slot machines at the adjacent casino.

In April 2018, Vip Nation won a New York-bred first level allowance at odds of 62-1. A year later, on April 7, Vip Nation struck again at the Big A, winning an open-company first-level allowance at odds of 64-1.

Monday, when Aqueduct hosts a 10-race Veteran’s Day card, Vip Nation will try to continue her success at Aqueduct in a second-level statebred allowance/optional $40,000 claimer going 1 1/16 miles on turf. First post for the Monday program is noon.

Vip Nation, a daughter of Paynter, won’t be 60-1 on Monday, but she does figure to offer some value in a race where the public will gravitate to either Out of Trouble or Classic Lady.

Now in the barn of trainer Bruce Levine, Vip Nation is coming off a win in a New York-bred $25,000 claimer at Belmont Park on Oct. 14. Prior to that, Vip Nation was second in an open $25,000 claiming race from which the top three finishers all came back to win.

“Even though she did run well at Belmont, I think she likes the two turns [at Aqueduct],” Levine said. “She’s doing good and this seemed like a logical spot.”

Vip Nation does her best running when she’s on the lead. Levine noted that three starts back, at Saratoga, Vip Nation broke poorly under jockey Javier Castellano, who then tried to rate her off the pace.

“She wanted no part of that,” Levine said. “She’s kind of one dimensional.”

Kendrick Carmouche, aboard for Vip Nation’s last two starts, is back on again Monday.

There is other speed in the field, including Short Pour for trainer Mark Hennig and Cirque for trainer Bob Dunham.

A contested pace would benefit both Out of Trouble and Classic Lady, who finished first and second in this same condition at Belmont on Oct. 4. Back in August, Classic Lady finished a head in front of Out of Trouble when the two were second and third behind War Canoe in this same condition at Saratoga.

Out of Trouble hasn’t run at Aqueduct since 2017, when she won a pair of races at 1 1/16 miles over the turf course in front-running fashion. Out of Trouble’s most recent victory came from a stalking position.

Classic Lady has a win and four seconds in her last five starts. In her lone start at Aqueduct, she was beaten a nose by Wish Upon in a first-level statebred allowance in April.

Dynamite Kitten, fifth in the John Hettinger Stakes, and Fetching, fourth to Out of Trouble in the Oct. 4 race, complete the field.

Following Monday’s card, Aqueduct will be dark until Thursday.