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Vicar's in Trouble stalked the early speed of rail horse Roman Unbridled and then turned the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes into an absolute runaway as he and jockey Rosie Napravnik rolled home to win by almost seven lengths at the Fair Grounds. Albano finished second, while post time favorite Gold Hawk got the perfect trip behind the three pace setters but had to settle for third place at the wire.
The usual caveat applies to a race like the Lecomte: we really don't know exactly what was running behind Vicar's in Trouble at this point in the season. But we do know at least a couple of facts after today. First, Vicar's in Trouble stretched out and stalked with ease, a complete change from his gate-to-wire dominance when breaking his maiden in mid-December (albeit, that came against state-bred maidens). Second, this colt has a pretty nice cruising speed at his disposal. The tests, however, will continue to ramp up for Vicar's in Trouble, including added distance in his subsequent starts (assuming he continues in the Fair Grounds three-year-old stakes races), but he's certainly moving in the right direction.
The fact that Vicar's in Trouble was miles the best has to give some pause about the abilities of both Albano and Gold Hawk. Both colts were well-backed by the crowd and neither could get anywhere near the winner at the wire. Either they both just had an off day (certainly possible) or Vicar's in Trouble is just miles better than each at this point in the spring (also possible). On paper, each colt looked like a serious contender in a well-matched field. In reality, neither (along with the rest of the field) could match the winner on this day at the Fair Grounds.
The pace of the Lecomte was, in terms of raw, unadjusted times, fairly tepid. The opening quarter was a solid 23.71, but things slowed down through the third and fourth quarters when Vicar's in Trouble rolled to the little with little to no opposition from his rivals.
Vicar's in Trouble is a three-year-old colt by Into Mischief out of a Vicar mare (Vibrant), trained by Michael Maker, owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey and ridden by the Queen of the Fair Grounds, Rosie Napravnik. His victory in the Lecomte was the first graded stakes victory of Vicar's in Trouble.
Below are the payouts, fractions and internal splits for the Lecomte Stakes.
| Horse | Win | Place | Show |
| 7-Vicar's in Trouble | $5.40 | $4.00 | $2.80 |
| 6-Albano | $8.00 | $3.80 | |
| 4-Gold Hawk | $2.20 |
| Base | Bet | Combo | Payout | Pays to - |
| $1.00 | Exacta | 7/6 | $19.70 | |
| $0.50 | Trifecta | 7/6/4 | $22.95 | |
| $0.10 | Superfecta | 7/6/4/1 | $24.78 | |
| $1.00 | Double | 12/7 | $14.90 | |
| $0.50 | Pick 3 | 2/12/7 | $12.60 | 3-of-3 |
| Distance | Fractions | Internal |
| 1/4: | 23.71 | 23.71 |
| 1/2: | 47.80 | 24.09 |
| 3/4: | 1:13.11 | 25.31 |
| Mile: | 1:38.36 | 25.25 |
| Finish: | 1:42.57 | 4.21 |
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