Charlene Polk

Felton, DE — One wouldn’t think a green horse and a green horseman would make a good pair, but occasionally there are those that just seem to click.

It took a few starts, but young trainer/driver Justin Vincent and the oft-raced but rarely taught trotter Sky Blues Commando have developed a successful partnership. After finishing sixth in his first two starts after buying the CR Commando gelding last fall, Vincent did not finish worse than third with Sky Blues Commando in any of their next 10 starts.

“I think the big track at Colonial sounded him up,” Vincent said.

Sky Blues Commando finished fifth in his most recent showing at Dover Downs, trotting in 2:00. In his previous five 2009 starts however, the horse had two wins and three thirds. Sky Blues Commando’s 2:01.3 win on Jan. 7 was his first visit to the winner’s circle since 2006, while his 2:01 victory on Jan. 21 was a new lifetime mark for the trotter. Lifetime, the 6-year-old has three wins, three seconds and 10 thirds from 56 starts.

Charlene Polk photo

Justin Vincent and Sky Blues Commando have combined for five in-the-money finishes in six starts this year.

Vincent, 21, says that vet work and the addition of some equipment, including trotting hobbles and a gaiting strap, have really helped the gelding.

“He wears everything but the kitchen sink,” Vincent said.

The one thing that doesn’t bother the horse, however, is the odd-looking right eye that led Vincent to christen him Blinky.

“When he was younger he accidentally got part of his eyelid ripped off,” he said, “and then he got a twig stuck in the same eye. He can see though.”

While Sky Blues Commando does appear to be back on track, Vincent says he is still immature.

“He wants to grab on and then he’ll stop real fast,” he said.

Vincent hopes, though, that the horse’s current success will continue as he continues to teach him to race.

And although Vincent might know more than Sky Blues Commando, he is still learning the sport himself. Being the son of driver Kim Vincent and trainer Melissa Olsen, he grew up surrounded by Standardbreds, but only after high school did he decide to follow his parents in their footsteps.

“There was a point when I had my eye on different things,” he said, “but it’s in my blood and I got back into it.”

Even though he only began driving in the summer of 2008 at Ocean Downs, Vincent has already had some luck. Last year from 95 starts he had eight wins, 16 seconds and 13 thirds, with an average of .223 and $30,424 in earnings. So far in 2009, from 24 starts Vincent has three wins and four thirds with earnings of $11,333.

Through warming up horses for various trainers at Dover Downs, he is also starting to pick up some catch drives.

“It’s tough getting catch drives here,” he said.

That’s part of the reason Vincent is hoping to return to Ocean Downs this summer, where there will be a significantly smaller colony of drivers. Of course, Vincent is also a fan of the nearby beaches and laid back atmosphere the Ocean Oval has to offer.

Beyond that, Vincent has an open horizon.

“I’d like to go wherever racing takes me,” he said.