One Nine Hundred, Vettriano set to throw down up front
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OZONE PARK, N.Y. – One Nine Hundred and Vettriano, two very fast sprinters, look set to have a throwdown Friday at Aqueduct in a second-level allowance/optional $75,000 claiming race at six furlongs.
One Nine Hundred, a Kentucky-bred 4-year-old son of Dialed In, won a six-furlong allowance race at Saratoga in June, but trainer Tom Morley wasn’t completely satisfied with how he came out of the race so the decision was made to rest him during the summer.
Wanting to keep One Nine Hundred at six furlongs, Morley shipped him to Churchill Downs for his return from a four-month layoff and after setting the pace under Irad Ortiz Jr., One Nine Hundred was beaten 1 1/4 lengths by Echo Again. One Nine Hundred lost second by a head to Lips Say Bliss, who came back to dead heat for win in this condition at Oaklawn Park on Dec. 20.
“I think he ran in a very, very good race,” Morley said. “He looked like he was going to win at the top of lane, he was off for a long time, he’d never run an off track, he’d never run at Churchill before. I thought it was a fantastic performance.”
Though One Nine Hundred’s two wins have come in front-running fashion, Morley notes that he ran a very good race – third beaten a head – in his debut nearly exactly one year ago when coming from slightly off the pace.
“Our horse does not need the lead in my opinion,” Morley said. “He’s run well from off the lead. Jose [Lezcano] knows this horse and has ridden this horse very, very well all four starts in which he’s ridden him. He’s proved he does not need the lead, but he’s also a fast horse and you need to be very careful of taking speed away from fast dirt sprinters.”
One Nine Hundred, who will have Lezcano aboard on Friday, breaks from post 5 in a seven-horse field.
Vettriano, who breaks from post 2 under Kendrick Carmouche, comes out of a second-place finish as the favorite in a second-level allowance here on Dec. 11 at six furlongs. Prior to that, the New York-bred son of Liam’s Map finished second to The Wine Steward in the $200,000 Hudson Stakes for New York-bred sprinters on Oct. 25.
Vettriano, when trained by Brad Cox, won his maiden by 5 1/4 lengths in May 2024 coming from slightly off the pace. After missing the break and finishing sixth in his first start for trainer Linda Rice, Vettriano has been on the lead in his last three starts.
“I guess it’ll be a slugfest,” Rice said. “[Vettriano] is a pretty nice horse, I think he’s been under pressure before. He’s a very fast horse, so is the other one, it’ll be interesting to see who’ll end up on top.”
Toxic Gray is another whose better races have come when in front early, though last April he came from off the pace to finish second, beaten a head by Twenty Four Mamba, in this condition going seven furlongs.
Manny Franco rides Toxic Gray for trainer Mike Miceli from post 3.
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