Vicar's in Trouble will target Indiana Derby
BOSSIER CITY, La. - Vicar’s in Trouble started his career in a humble place, as an $8,000 yearling purchase. But this season at 3, the Louisiana-bred has done more than most might have ever imagined, earning a spot in the Kentucky Derby after taking the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, then surpassing $1 million in earnings on Saturday with a blowout win in the Grade 2, $400,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.
The significance of the horse’s accomplishments has not been lost on his connections. Ken and Sarah Ramsey purchased Vicar’s in Trouble at a 2-year-old sale for $80,000 and have since had him in training with Mike Maker. To date, Vicar’s in Trouble has won 4 of 9 starts and $1,128,900.
“He’s my first Louisiana Derby winner, my first Lecomte winner, my first Super Derby winner, so he’s always going to carry a special place for me,” said Maker, a perennial leading trainer in Kentucky whose top horses have included champion Hansen.
Vicar’s in Trouble was prominent from the start in the Super Derby, tracking the pace in the 1 1/8-mile race before opening up on the field through the stretch. He won by 7 1/4 lengths and earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 99. Rosie Napravnik was aboard, reunited with Vicar’s in Trouble for the first time since the Kentucky Derby.
“He’s the same horse. He’s got a great big heart,” Napravnik said. “I do think he’s matured throughout his 3-year-old year.”
Vicar’s in Trouble shipped out of Louisiana Downs on Sunday morning, to return to Kentucky to prepare for his next start, which Maker said is scheduled to be the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand on Oct. 4. Vicar’s in Trouble will be attempting to take down his fourth graded win in a super season in which he has also run third in both the Grade 3 Iowa Derby and Grade 2 West Virginia Derby and finished a troubled 19th in the Kentucky Derby.
“He’s held his form all year in my opinion,” Maker said. “I mean, he got pretty cut up in the [Kentucky] Derby and at Prairie Meadows, he really didn’t like the sloppy going. In the West Virginia Derby, he was pressed every jump of the way. So, he’s run credible races.”
With his win in the Super Derby, Vicar’s in Trouble completed a sweep of his home state’s most prestigious races for 3-year-olds, the other being the $1 million Louisiana Derby in March.
On the Super Derby undercard, the Ramseys, Maker, and Napravnik teamed to win the $75,000 River Cities with Sassy Kitten, who will now come under consideration for stakes at Keeneland, said Maker. The owner-trainer-jockey team also was behind Coalport, who finished first in the $75,000 Unbridled here Saturday, but was disqualified for stretch interference and placed second. Coalport earned a Beyer Figure of 98 after covering 1 1/16 miles on turf in a quick 1:40.71.
Louisiana Downs ran seven stakes in all on its richest day of the meet Saturday, with the races worth a cumulative $900,000. Handle on the 13-race program from all sources was $3,554,751, up 1 percent from the corresponding card in 2013, according to Trent McIntosh, director of racing operations for Louisiana Downs.
The track races through Sept. 21.