Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Sand Vic Now A Winner

June 27, 2006

For nearly two years, Sand Vic couldn’t win. Now, it seems he can’t lose. The five-year-old trotter has strung together three consecutive victories after snapping a 25-race drought that dated to July 2004 with a triumph in May’s Cutler Memorial final. On June 23, Sand Vic won his elimination for Saturday’s $200,000 Titan Cup at the Meadowlands by three-quarters of a length over Elegant Man in 1:53.

"I’m not surprised," trainer Trond Smedshammer said. "Last year, Mr Muscleman had a tremendous year and Sand Vic was just a four-year-old. He’s a year older now, more confident and mentally tougher. I’ve always thought he was a very good horse. He has a chance to have a tremendous year. He has a legitimate chance to be the best of the class."

As a two-year-old trained by Jim Arledge, Sand Vic won nine of 14 starts, including a division of the Bluegrass, where he finished ahead of Smedshammer’s future Triple Crown-winner Windsong’s Legacy. As a three-year-old, Sand Vic won a Currier & Ives division, but ended the season on a nine-race skid. Last year, he found his way to Smedshammer’s barn and went 0-for-14, although he earned $476,061 – a record for a horse without a victory.

Sand Vic won’t be Smedshammer’s only horse in the Titan Cup. Strong Yankee, who last year won the Breeders Crown, Yonkers Trot and Kentucky Futurity, advanced to the final with a second-place finish to Corleone Kosmos in his elim. It was the second start of the year for Strong Yankee, who has earned $1.4 million lifetime.