For the entirety of his career up until this week, Vitruvian Man was what most people would describe as an ordinary racehorse. A homebred from trainer Doug O’Neill’s longtime owners, Glenn Sorgenstein’s WC Racing, he won exactly one of five starts before tackling graded company in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), where he finished a respectable third behind the highly regarded So Happy two months ago.
Even with that accomplishment, the Vino Rosso colt would probably have remained in the ordinary category had a piece of him not been sold to some high-profile connections. Now it’s hard to say where rappers and hip-hop artists Lil Yachty, Lil Wayne, and Rauw Alejandro fall on the fame category, depending on perspective, but it’s easy to say with confidence that they’re big-time. As principals in Run Fast Racing along with music producer Adam Kluger, more people will now know who Vitruvian Man is than they ever would otherwise.
And now, thanks to Vitruvian Man’s new co-owners, for a $100 investment, anyone can partner with the music stars, and with each victory, every investor receives a return.
And while a Belmont Stakes win is a longshot, Vitruvian Man’s connections believe his presence in the race, thanks to his superstar new owners, will open up the race to 100,000 or more fans who never would have watched the race, let alone heard of it.
Because Vitruvian Man wasn’t nominated to the Triple Crown, his ownership group had to supplement the colt to the Belmont for a $50,000 fee. This is how the partnership with Run Fast Racing came about: the new owners would pay the supplement (and then some) for a percentage of the colt’s ownership. Win-win.
He will be an outsider, but his two-time Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning trainer believes he’s found the trick in new equipment (a new bit), coupled with a few good workouts, and expects to surprise his naysayers.
Does not look promising for this closer. Not only will he be back in the pack after leaving from the inside post, but he’ll also be dealing with the Derby winner Golden Tempo and Belmont morning-line favorite Renegade. The company is great, but it will likely be left in the dust.
Having fancy owners doesn’t make horses run faster. While we acknowledge that stranger things have happened, betting this one to win is ill-advised. However, he will be the longest shot on the board, and his absolute best performance could garner him a piece of the superfecta. No doubt, the owners will enjoy the show. Let’s build a winning superfecta with this longshot.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
