Vannacide has been a constant presence at Arapahoe Park, where she has won at least one race every year since 2003. And in her eight seasons of competition in Colorado, she has never slipped into the claiming ranks. In fact, Vannacide will be after her second stakes win of the meet Saturday in the $30,000 Spicy.
It’s a race Vannacide has won three times before, but whether this year’s renewal will be her final Arapahoe appearance remains to be seen. It’s a logical question to start asking as the meet ends next weekend and the mare is now 9.
“It may not be her last race, it may not be her last season,” said Kenneth Gleason, who trains Vannacide for her breeder, Bill Vanlandingham. “I don’t know what he’s going to do. She still likes to run and she’s as sound as a dollar.”
Gleason said Vannacide’s longevity is due in large part to Vanlandingham turning her out after most Arapahoe meets. She won her career debut at the track on July 4, 2003, and has since compiled an incredible local record. Vannacide is 13 for 33 at Arapahoe and has won 10 stakes at the track, ranging in distance from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. Overall, she is 16 for 42, with earnings of $267,832.
Vannacide’s first win of the current meet came July 25, when she was up by a half-length in the $30,000 Columbine. It was her fourth win in the 1 1/16-mile stakes, and it came after a handful of sprint starts. Vannacide will be moving back to the Colorado-bred ranks for the Spicy, a 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares.
“She’s just waiting for that distance, she likes to go on,” Gleason said. “She comes from dead last. She likes to go further.”
Vannacide, a daughter of Slewacide, will face eight others Saturday. Russell Vicchrilli has the mount from post 3. Others set to start include Illusive Crystals, a front-running stakes winner who is 5 for 8 at Arapahoe.
