by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Although she had a little luck in her last start, a victory in a $40,900 division of the Lady Suffolk at Freehold Raceway on May 3, Vida De Vie, unlike four of her opponents, managed to remain flat for the entire mile and improved her record to 3-1-1-0 with $21,650 in the bank.

“She can leave a little bit and actually we won both divisions of the Lady Suffolk (Lola De Vie in the other) by being quite lucky,” said Chris Ryder, the filly’s conditioner. “When those four other fillies broke behind the gate in her race I was having more luck than I can poke a stick at. I took it.”

The filly’s next engagement is on Friday (May 10) in a $24,758 division of the John Simpson Memorial which is the second race at Meadowlands Racetrack. She leaves from post position seven and is 7-2 on the morning line.

Helene Gregory/World Wide Racing Photo

Vida De Vie was a 2:01.2 winner in her Lady Suffolk division on May 3 at Freehold.

Bred and owned by Joie De Vie Farms, the daughter of Muscles Yankee and the Conway Hall mare Velma K is an embryo transfer and is the first foal from her dam, who earned more than $171,000 in one year of racing and was second to Bee Line in the 2006 Buckette. Vida De Vie is a half-sister to Lance Dance De Vie, a yearling daughter of Explosive Matter.

The filly was sixth in her career debut on June 28, 2012, at the Meadowlands in a 2-year-old race. She was winless in six more starts before breaking her maiden on August 31 at Pocono Downs in a $9,500 non-winners race.

Prior to that win, she was fourth in a $27,626 Reynolds division on July 5, a $20,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes event on July 12 and another $19,500 Sire Stake contest on August 10. She was also second in $25,838 Tompkins-Geers division on July 19 at Tioga Downs and in a $25,000 division of the Arden Downs Stake at The Meadows on July 26.

After her first win, Vida De Vie trotted five more pari-mutuel miles in 2012. She came home fourth in the $30,750 Marion Dancer at Freehold, then was first, seventh and third in her legs of the New Jersey Sire Stake Green Acres before capturing the $25,000 final in her last start of the year on Oct. 5.

“Winning the Green Acres did bring her some dollars, but we didn’t get rich there,” Ryder said. “She’s a nice filly and has always been cleanly gaited. You will see some breaks in her lines, but that is not characteristic of her. As I said she is a nice filly, but I don’t think she’s a Grade A filly.”

The filly started this year’s season with a second in a non-winners race at Freehold on April 19 and followed that with a seventh in the same class the next week after breaking at the gate.

Ryder did decide to put hobbles on Vida De Vie after that performance, but he thinks another change he made in her equipment could have helped move her up.

“I just put a plain bit on her and she seemed to be happier,” he said. “I don’t think the hobbles made much difference with her and I just put them on for what is called in this business ‘insurance.’”

As for the rest of her season after this Friday’s contest, her connections have elected to keep her in stakes in the New Jersey program and will also point her towards the Hudson Trot.

“She’s possibly a bit better on a smaller track,” Ryder said. “She likes to go at high speed and over a mile they might out trot her a little bit.”

Here are the fields for the two John Simpson Memorial divisions for 3-year-old filly trotters, on Friday at Meadowlands Racetrack.

Race 1-$24,258 John Simpson Memorial
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-ML
1-Deja Vu Too-Corey Callahan-Jonas Czernyson-10-1
2-Lady Dynamite-Ron Pierce-Mark Harder-5-2
3-Caneel Hall-Steve Smith-Ray Schnittker-6-1
4-Dream In Chocolate-D.R. Ackerman-D.R. Ackerman-15-1
5-True Day Dream-Yannick Gingras-Dan O’Mara-2-1
6-Southwind Cocoa-Tim Tetrick-Linda Toscano-5-2

Race 2-$24,758 John Simpson Memorial
PP-Horse-Driver-Trainer-ML
1-M C’s Diamond-Carlo Poliseno-Carlo Poliseno-15-1
2-Holy Mary-D.R. Ackerman-D.R. Ackerman-15-1
3-Miss Steele-Andy Miller-Julie Miller-8-5
4-Find The Magic-David Miller-Ross Croghan-10-1
5-Andie Sophia-Tim Tetrick-Rob Harmon-5-2
6-Audio-Steve Smith-Ray Schnittker-6-1
7-Vida De Vie-Ron Pierce-Chris Ryder-7-2