Thirty-two horse and rider combinations flew around the forward track in the $40,000 1.35m Las Vegas National Speed Stake. But it was nineteenth to go, Kristen Vanderveen, aboard her eight-year-old mare, Bull Run's Divine Fortune, who, for the second night in a row, took the most daring and speedy track in 54.24 seconds for the win. Frenchman Eric Navet and The Flying Ham were closest to catching Vanderveen, boldly galloping between jumps, with the crowd cheering, ultimately stopping the clock in 55.26 seconds for second place.
Vanderveen and Bull Run's Divine Fortune are a fairly new pair, and this was one of their first speed classes together. "I want her to be a competitive horse, so I walked a competitive track - I figure there's only one way to learn. I was waiting to see what she would show me tonight, and she really pulled through."
In reference to Vanderveen's strategy, she attributed her winning time to taking less steps in the lines. "I did leave out strides, which was a test to see how big her stride length is. My turns were not as quick as Eric's, so leaving those out really helped me," she noted.
But the speedster thought she left a little room for someone to go faster. "I couldn't watch the rest of the class after I went. I was pleased with my horse tonight, but I knew someone could beat my time with a perfect round."
Thirty-two horse and rider combinations flew around the forward track in the $40,000 1.35m Las Vegas National Speed Stake. But it was nineteenth to go, Kristen Vanderveen, aboard her eight-year-old mare, Bull Run's Divine Fortune, who, for the second night in a row, took the most daring and speedy track in 54.24 seconds for the win. Frenchman Eric Navet and The Flying Ham were closest to catching Vanderveen, boldly galloping between jumps, with the crowd cheering, ultimately stopping the clock in 55.26 seconds for second place.
Vanderveen and Bull Run's Divine Fortune are a fairly new pair, and this was one of their first speed classes together. "I want her to be a competitive horse, so I walked a competitive track - I figure there's only one way to learn. I was waiting to see what she would show me tonight, and she really pulled through."
In reference to Vanderveen's strategy, she attributed her winning time to taking less steps in the lines. "I did leave out strides, which was a test to see how big her stride length is. My turns were not as quick as Eric's, so leaving those out really helped me," she noted.
But the speedster thought she left a little room for someone to go faster. "I couldn't watch the rest of the class after I went. I was pleased with my horse tonight, but I knew someone could beat my time with a perfect round."