Columbus, OH ---Joie De Vie Farm and Winbak Farm's Vic's Winner took advantage of a pocket trip to nip On The Ropes by a neck in 1:57 in the $44,600 Dexter Cup elimination for 3-year-old trotters on Saturday (April 28) at Freehold Raceway.
The Dexter Cup is the season’s first stakes race on the road to the Hambletonian, which is harness racing’s premier event for 3-year-old trotters. A total of 11 horses entered the Dexter Cup, one shy of the number necessary to divide the group into two elimination divisions. Therefore, three horses -- Don, Maxus and Perlucky -- received byes based on career earnings and advanced directly to the May 5 final at Freehold. Vic’s Winner was among the eight horses that competed Saturday for the remaining five spots in the Dexter Cup final.
Trained by Hermann Heitmann and driven by George Brennan, the son of Credit Winner-Victors Vicky took the lead at the opening quarter in :29.1 before yielding to On The Ropes (Ake Svanstedt) at the :58.2 half-mile marker. On The Ropes was still on top at the 1:28 three-quarter pole with Vic's Winner now out and taking aim at the leader.
Vic's Winner was just a nose back at the top of the stretch, then got up in the final strides for the neck triumph. Favored Lindy's Big Bang (David Miller) wound up third, 1-1/4 lengths behind the winner. Fourth-place finisher Credicone (Trond Smedshammer) and fifth-place finisher Thrust Control (Tim Tetrick) also qualified for the May 5 final.
Vic’s Winner was winless in his first two career starts, but capped his 2017 campaign with back-to-back victories with Heitmann, who trained for Joie De Vie in the late 1990s and returned in August. This year, Vic's Winner also has a second in a division of the Bobby Weiss Series and a first-place finish in a conditioned race. He has earned $45,860 lifetime.