By DRF.com
SUNLAND Park, N.M. (Jan. 29, 2023) – California-bred One in Vermillion won his third consecutive stakes race Sunday, when he came back along the rail after being passed for a length victory in the $100,000 Riley Allison Derby at Sunland Park.
One in Vermillion is out of the Any Given Saturday mare Given Star, was bred by Richard Barton Enterprises, is owned by Jonathan Kalman and trained by Esteban Martinez. He has three wins in four starts, earnings of $149,620 and was coming off a win in the Dec. 21 Lost in the Fog.
How Did He Do That was a fast-closing second, finishing three lengths clear of third-place finisher Loudmouthsoup.
The Riley Allison, which was run at one mile, served as the first of two local steppingstones to the Grade 3, $600,000 Sunland Derby on March 26. It also was one of four stakes on the card, including the $65,000 Borderplex won by Christian d’Oro. The Borderplex is one of two local preps for the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks.
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One in Vermillion ($9.20) broke well and crossed over to the lead soon after the start of the Riley Allison, while setting pressured fractions of 23.75 seconds for the opening quarter and 46.94 for the half-mile. He continued to lead through six furlongs in 1:11.42, lost his advantage, and came back in the stretch to cover the distance on a fast track in 1:37.17.
One in Vermillion won the Turf Paradise Open Sprint Futurity and the track’s Lost in the Fog Juvenile before shipping from Arizona to New Mexico for the Riley Allison. He has now won 3 of 4 starts for earnings of $149,620. He ran the mile in 1:37.17 and won by a length at odds of 7-2 in a field of nine.