Vlahos Pulls Away Late To Win The $100,000 Clockers’ Corner Taken Off The Turf Sunday At Santa Anita

VLAHOS PULLS AWAY LATE TO WIN THE $100,000 CLOCKERS’ CORNER TAKEN OFF THE TURF SUNDAY AT SANTA ANITA

ARCADIA, CA (Jan. 26, 2025)—With Sunday’s Clockers’ Corner Stakes moving from the turf to the dirt main track due to rain, odds-on favorite Vlahos finished ahead of just two rivals to claim the $100,000 stakes going six furlongs at Santa Anita.

Vlahos and jockey Antonio Fresu pressed pacesetter Mbagnick through fractions of 21.77 and 44.44 seconds for a half mile and kicked clear of that rival inside the final furlong to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Vlahos won on a wet-fast track in a time of 1:10.18.

The change in surfaces led to the scratches of morning line favorite Air Force Red, Gaslight Dancer, Turn On The Jets and Unconquerable Keen. With no place or show wagering, Vlahos paid $3.80.

“The leader set a very good pace,” Fresu said. “My horse he is really fast and it was good for me that they moved the race to the dirt. My horse is always used to running on the dirt, so I had plenty on confidence in him.

“I let the horse on the rail take the lead, gave my horse a breather at the three-eighths pole and then started moving. My horse was always in control.”

O’Neill, who also won Saturday’s GII San Pasqual with Katonah, was not at Santa Anita.

This was the first stakes win for Vlahos, who is owned by Pappas Horse Racing Corp., Todd Cady, Ty Leatherman and Dan Northrup. Last year, Vlahos debuted in March for trainer Luis Mendez and was an eye-catching maiden winner going 6 ½ furlongs. He was subsequently sold privately to his current connections.

Following that maiden win, Vlahos was shipped to Churchill Downs for the GII Pat Day Mile going a mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 4. Vlahos set wicked fractions that day and wound up finishing third by 1 ¼ lengths. He didn’t resurface until October. Prior to Saturday, Vlahos failed to hit the board in three starts since his return, which includes the Zia Park Derby most recently in November.

“He didn’t race too well the past couple of times, hopefully this will build up his confidence,” Fresu said. “He seems like a nice horse. Let’s see what he does next time.”

Vlahos is now 6: 2-0-1 with $170,880 in earnings.

Live racing resumes Friday with a nine-race card starting at 12:30 p.m. PT.