NFL's Wilfork enjoys success as owner

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Vince Wilfork has reached the top of his profession as a football player as a two-time winner of the Super Bowl and a five-time All Pro. On the track, he’s just starting to make his mark.

Wilfork won Friday night’s Grade 3, $200,000 Texas Mile at Lone Star Park with Great Minds, and on Wednesday at Belmont Park, he’ll be represented by the promising 3-year-old filly Elysea’s World.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “Even though I play football, it’s nothing like watching your own horse. I get more nervous doing that than ever playing football.”

Wilfork, 34, is a defensive lineman with the Houston Texans. He races Elysea’s World with a group that includes several of his former teammates from the New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo and Devin McCourty. She was a private purchase off a debut win last June at Chantilly in France.

Wilfork is the sole owner of Great Minds, who won his third straight race in the Texas Mile. Al Stall Jr. trains the horse, who on Friday rallied from just off the pace to earn a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 96. Wilfork had purchased Great Minds privately as a yearling from breeder Claiborne Farm. Great Minds is a 5-year-old son of Stroll.

“When he was a baby, I went to Claiborne Farm, and I was just starting to get into buying horses,” Wilfork said. “He was the first yearling I bought for myself. I looked at his father, and his father got better as he aged, so I was always waiting for him to get older. I wanted a horse that would get better with age. We kind of figured that the older he got, the better he’ll get. [The Texas Mile] just showed it.”

Great Minds has spent some of his career on turf since Stroll was a Grade 1 winner on grass. But he’s been a regular on dirt since February, when he won a Delta Downs allowance, then the track’s $75,000 Borgata prior to shipping up from Evangeline Downs for the Texas Mile.

“We tried him on turf because he’s bred to go turf,” Wilfork said. “Once he showed us he liked dirt, we said, ‘Let’s try [keeping] him on dirt.’ So, he’s 3 for 3 at this distance on dirt, a two-turn mile. A lot of credit goes to Claiborne Farm, my trainer, my jockey [C.J. McMahon], and everyone who takes care of my horse. We’re very fortunate.”

Wilfork said he got into racing after following Big Brown, the 2008 winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“I fell in love with him,” he said. “I said, ‘You know what? I want to get involved. I want to own one.’ I played with a couple of claimers and learned the game. And when I felt like I was ready to own my own horse, I got introduced to Claiborne Farm. They’ve been nothing but awesome people over the years. For my first yearling to do what he’s doing right now, you can’t put a price on that.”

Elysea’s World will be making her first start for her new ownership Wednesday and is based in New York with trainer Chad Brown.

“We’re pretty excited about her,” Wilfork said. “We bought her as a 2-year-old. She won her first start overseas, and we brought her over here with the anticipation of sending her to the Breeders’ Cup. But she had a little [physical setback], and we backed off her for six months. Now she’s back on track.

“This is my first filly, and I really like fillies, so I’m looking forward now to getting another filly on my own. But it’s a fun hobby, especially if you get around some good people that love the sport and do it the right way. You can have fun with it. Win or lose, it’s always about having fun. It’s always good to win, though. I’ll tell you that.”