Vixen outgames foes in Herecomesthebride S. (G3) blanket finish  

Vekoma’s Vixen earned her first graded win in dramatic fashion Saturday at Gulfstream Park, taking the $215,000 Herecomesthebride S. (G3) by a neck in a four-horse photo finish.

Getting a stalking trip under John Velazquez, Vixen was never worse than third in the one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. In the three path for the entire trip, Vixen made her move for the lead at the top of the stretch. After a hard-fought duel, she out-finished Mrs Worldwide, who was a neck ahead of Daisy Flyer, with Classic Q just a nose back in fourth.

The final time was a solid 1:33.57 on the firm turf.

“She ran good. Maybe she bounced a little off her first performance (of the year, in the Feb. 1 Sweetest Chant S.), but today was good,” winning trainer Mark Casse said of Vixen. “Hopefully, she moves on from there. She’s tough; she’s a good horse. Like I said, maybe she kind of regressed from her first start. She’ll have some time and she’ll be off to Kentucky.”

In addition to winning the Sweetest Chant, Vixen was second in last year’s Natalma S. (G1) and now sports a record of 3-1-1 in six starts, with earnings of $353,861 for D. J. Stable LLC and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, who purchased her for $200,000 at the 2024 OBS Spring 2-year-old sale.

Vixen was bred in Kentucky by Jason Edward Howard. She was the first of two of Vekoma’s stakes winners on the card, followed by later in the day by Mi Bago, who dominated the Colonel Liam S. for his third straight added money win.