June 29, 2008 — The horses were up and running Sunday at St. Thomas' Clinton Phipps Racetrack in record style, as fans got the rare opportunity to see a track record fall – then, minutes later, see the very same record fall again.
In the fourth race of the day, Dusst, Man the Torpedoes, Song of Myself and Emilin ran seven and a half furlongs for a $3,800 purse. Song of Myself held the lead for a matter of seconds before Dusst blew past him, leaving Song of Myself and Emilin battling it out for second, while Man the Torpedoes held on to last place. As the horses made the first turn and started down the top of the stretch, Dusst pushed his lead out to one-length. Emilin and Song of Myself closed the gap by the time the horses reached the backstretch, both now right on the heels of Dusst. Still trailing was Man the Torpedoes.
But as the horses got to the final turn, Man the Torpedoes shifted gears and shot around the turn like a rocket, passing Song of Myself and Emilin to the inside. As they hit the final stretch, it was Man the Torpedoes and Dusst neck and neck. But Man the Torpedoes pulled away at the end and took the win, setting a new track record with a time of 1:33:4.
"The jockey rode exactly how he wanted to," said Man the Torpedoes' trainer Wayne Crooke. "This is his 17th race here in the Virgin Islands, and the jockey has ridden him about 14 out of those 17 times, so he knew exactly the type of horse he had. He's not a horse that's going to go to the front — he's going to take his time and move in."
In the feature race of the day, That's My Destiny jumped out at the start, followed by Valid Respect, Prospect Way and Vivid Cat. The horses maintained this pace through the first turn, but down the first stretch, Prospect Way took hold of the lead, followed closely by That's My Destiny — leaving Valid Respect and Vivid Cat to battle for third. As they started to round the second bend, Prospect Way and That's My Destiny were neck and neck, while Valid Respect and Vivid Cat fell two lengths behind.
But down the backstretch, Vivid Cat shifted gears and closed the gap within seconds. As the horses made the final turn, Vivid Cat was out in front, followed by Prospect Way, while That's My Destiny and Valid Respect fell a length behind.
Down the final stretch, it was Vivid Cat — followed closely by Prospect Way — who pulled off the win. Not only winning the $4,200 purse, Vivid Cat set a new track record for the 7-1/2 furlong race, beating the record set minutes before by Man the Torpedoes by one second, with a time of 1:32:4.
"I just told him (the jockey) to sit behind Valid Respect, especially because he's the speed in the race, but it looked like he got a bad break in the beginning," said Michael Smith, Vivid Cat's owner. "I just wanted to sit close behind the other horses instead of going up early fighting. But once Vivid Cat was close to those horses getting up the back stretch, I knew he would have been alright and would have won the race."
