Vitalogy delivered a pearl in Bourbon

Sometime Tuesday, Dan Blacker, an English expatriate trainer based in California, got in touch with Brendan Walsh, an Irish expatriate trainer based in Kentucky. Was Walsh, Blacker wondered, planning on sending the 2-year-old Vitalogy to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf? And if he was, might he reconsider?

Sure, Blacker, an amiable fellow, was only jesting, but the underlying message was clear: Hit the Road, the Blacker-trained winner of the Zuma Beach Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita, had delivered an impressive enough performance to make his connections dream about the Juvenile Turf, and their concern is that Vitalogy could stand in their way.

Vitalogy didn’t even win the Bourbon Stakes on Sunday at Keeneland, finishing second by a neck. Peace Achieved was the colt that held him clear, earning the Bourbon’s BC Challenge Win and You’re In slot in the Juvenile Turf. Credit to Peace Achieved, trained by Mark Casse and ridden by Miguel Mena, and an intended Juvenile Turf starter. Having the pace to take a favorable early position will always be an asset, and that is how Peace Achieved beat Vitalogy at Keeneland.

But it was Vitalogy who turned in the more impressive performance. Marooned in post 14, he dropped to the tail of the field before the first turn and lost ground while zipping past horses around the far turn. He kicked in for a final run the last furlong and just fell short, leaving jockey Javier Castellano convinced his mount would’ve prevailed with a better draw.

Vitalogy, like his trainer, came to America from Ireland and was trained by Joseph O’Brien when he finished third with a less-than-ideal trip in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine. Walsh said Vitalogy is smart and adapted smoothly to his American training regimen, came out of the Bourbon in good shape, and will prepare for the Breeders’ Cup, like Walsh’s BC Juvenile hope Maxfield, at Keeneland.

Hit the Road also has a good head on his shoulders, according to Blacker, and it was his intelligence that caught Blacker’s eye from the start. Blacker gave Hit the Road a dirt debut for seasoning, figuring the colt would need turf, and Hit the Road won a mile maiden grass race second out at Del Mar. He coughed the morning of his intended stakes debut, also at Del Mar, and the Zuma Beach marked his first start in more than two months. Hit the Road, intelligent young lad that he is, waited until jockey Victor Espinoza gave him his cue, then unleashed a tremendous burst around the far turn to reach contention before finishing off his foes in the homestretch.

“We know he’ll be running against better competition next time, but you hope he’s that kind of horse,” said Blacker.

The overseas contingent for the Juvenile Turf remains in flux, but Victor Ludorum, winner of the Win and You’re In Jean-Luc Lagardere on Sunday at Longchamp, won’t be coming, barring a change in plans. The Group 1 Dewhurst this Saturday in England could yield runners, though the best horses in the Dewhurst typically are shelved for the winter to prepare for overseas classics the following spring.