Break Provides A Winning Spark
They say a break can be as good as a change. Time to re-charge, grow and mature can make the world of difference to younger horses, especially moving from 2 to 3 yo’s. The Vital Spark had progressed in his first three runs but that came to an abrupt halt last time out. With three months between runs, he returned to action by winning the 5f Extra Winnings With BetUK Acca Club Handicap at Newcastle.
As a juvenile, The Vital Spark took time tom come to hand and was very much a work in progress throughout last season. Steadily he improved with each run, with he turf season culminating in a fine run at York, where he showed blistering speed. It looked as though a win was just around the corner when the 2yo turned his attention to handicaps.
An opening mark of 64 looked very fair and offered a chance for The Vital Spark to potentially have an all-weather campaign. Unfortunately that was immediately shelved when he ran poorly in a nursery just before Christmas. It was a disappointing run, which did leave connections scratching their heads as he had shown are than the performance had shown.
Given time and freshened up, The Vital Spark returned to action 3 months later. The 3yo handicap looked very competitive on paper with 9 to go to post in the contest. Tom took the ride and showed his hand immediately leaving the stalls. Jumping well, The Vital Spark was straight into stride and straight into the lead. Having taken the lead he tracked over from stall 2 to take the field along towards the near side. Setting a strong gallop, The Vital Spark was racing with enthusiasm but well within himself.
Giving his main rivals a nice toe into the race, The Vital Spark was having to cut out the hard work in front. He was in a nice rhythm racing past halfway as Tom looked to kick for home passing the 2f marker. The pair maintained their advantage but couldn’t shake his rivals who matched the leader stride for stride. This injection of pace did split the field in two as The Vital Spark set sail for home.
The lead had been cut to a very minimal advantage but The Vital Spark was still moving forward. Having gotten within a nose, his nearest rivals couldn’t go past as Tom was getting a bit more from his mount. Entering the final furlong the pair had repelled all comers but had the favourite to deal with now. Cutting between runners, the fav went on the hunt for The Vital Spar. Tom was getting a great tune out of his mount as the 3yo stuck his head down. Again the lead was diminishing but The Vital Spark was tough. The line came in time and all the hard work had been done, with The Vital Spark securing his first win by a short head.
The Vital Spark showed his true colours in this performance and it was nice to see him bounce back to form. Always one who showed ability at home, he had been progressive before that blip last time out. He showed blistering speed here before buckling down and really sticking his neck out. This win was against race fit rivals and after coming back from a layoff, it feels as though there could be more to come from The Vital Spark. The turf season is just around the corner so there will be plenty of races and he can really build on this maiden win.