Vann Belvoir had Lord Vronsky for a cup of coffee, but the
39-year-old trainer, a recent convert to Southern California racing from
the Northwest, had nothing but praise for the 5-year-old gelding that
won Sunday’s second race by a half-length in his first start for
Belvoir.
“You could see that he was going up the ladder,” Belvoir said of
the California-bred chestnut, who was winning for the eighth time in 19
career starts. “He raced for $5,000 (last July) so you knew there were
issues, to start him that low in his first race in seven months, after
he had run against better. But they were confident, they kept jumping
him up.”
Eventually, Lord Vronsky ran for $12,500 on Jan. 13 at Golden
Gate, where Belvoir claimed him. He ran him back for the same price
Sunday.
“You could see on his replays he gets his nose in front and you can’t get by him. We loved the horse. He’s a cool horse.”
It was a short-lived love affair. Lord Vronsky was claimed Friday
by Art Sherman, whose son, Steve, had the horse for nine races until
Belvoir took him for $12,500 on Jan. 13.