Trip home proves biggest obstacle for Victim of Love

ELMONT, N.Y. – Victim of Love got a bad trip Saturday. Fortunately for trainer Todd Beattie, the traffic issues occurred that evening on the van trip from Belmont Park back to his barn at Penn National and not during the running of the Grade 3 Vagrancy, which Victim of Love won at odds of 27-1 in a race run during a driving rainstorm.

Victim of Love was the longest shot on the board in the 6 1/2-furlong Vagrancy, contested over a racetrack officially downgraded to good due to intermittent showers throughout the afternoon that worsened drastically as the field left the gate for the first of four graded stakes on Saturday’s card.

Victim of Love, runner-up in the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie earlier this winter at Laurel but exiting a poor performance going a mile in her subsequent start, sat a perfect pace-stalking trip in the Vagrancy. She forged to the lead under jockey Jose Lezcano in early stretch before gradually edging away to a 1 3/4-length decision over heavily favored Come Dancing.

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Victim of Love, a 4-year-old daughter of Speightstown, received an 86 Beyer Speed Figure, matching a career high previously set in the Barbara Fritchie.

“She had a long trip coming back home last night due to a bad wreck on I-78, she had to sit in traffic about four hours on the highway and didn’t get back until midnight,” Beattie said by phone Sunday morning. “But she’s doing about as good as she can this morning, considering what she went through last night.”

Beattie said he wasn’t surprised by Victim of Love’s victory, despite the long odds.

“I really thought she had a legitimate shot,” Beattie said. “I knew she liked the distance, I think 6 1/2 to seven furlongs suits her best, and she had been doing really well, showing me a lot in the morning going into the race. And she’d had some extra time off following her previous start because of the Covid, which is never a bad thing.”

Beattie admitted he didn’t mind the stormy conditions that prevailed as the race unfolded.

“I was actually doing a rain dance because I knew she liked the mud, she’d already won in it once before,” Beattie said. “She’s a Speightstown, and they all seem to like the wet tracks. And she’s the kind of horse who handles adversity really well. If I had to be on a horse running under those conditions, she’d be the one I’d want to be sitting on.”

Beattie said he’s not yet mapped out any plans for Victim of Love’s next start.

“A brutal trip like she had getting back can take a lot out of you, so we might have to give her an extra couple of weeks off,” Beattie said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Firenze Fire points to Vanderbilt

Firenze Fire had no issues getting back to his stall following a popular 1 1/2-length tally over Stan the Man about an hour later in the Grade 2 True North. Firenze Fire is stabled at Belmont Park with a division of trainer Kelly Breen’s barn.

Winning the True North was vindication of sorts for Firenze Fire coming just three weeks after his distant fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 Carter in his first start since joining Breen’s barn during the spring following the indictment of former trainer Jason Servis.

“I got really worried when it started pouring about an hour before the race because I thought it was déjà vu all over again since he showed me in his previous start [the Carter] that he doesn’t really seem to like an off track,” Breen said. “Fortunately, the track was harrowed and fast by the time we ran, and I’m just very glad everything worked out and he ran his race yesterday.

Firenze Fire was the fourth of five winners on the card for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., who has been his regular rider for much of the past 13 months but was not aboard for the Carter. Firenze Fire earned a 97 Beyer for the effort.

“Irad came back after the race and said that was him out there today, and I was really excited to hear that,” Breen said. “The Vanderbilt will be the next spot at Saratoga, with the Breeders’ Cup [Sprint] what we’re aiming for as his major objective this year.”

The Grade 1 Vanderbilt will be run July 25 at Saratoga.