Always a Vavoom and Chris Page scored a win in claiming action at Miami Valley Raceway Thursday, Jan. 12. The Indiana sired gelding was guided by Chris Page for the win in the $10,000 claimer, going for a purse of $10,000.
Always a Vavoom, winner of the Fox Stake in 2018, scored a win at Miami Valley Raceway Thursday, Jan. 12 for driver Chris Page. Photo by Conrad Photography
Always a Vavoom started from post five and left just enough to get a good seat early on, setting third behind race leader Pine Master and Sam Widger. Fractions of :27.1, :56.0 and 1:25.3 were established before Always a Vavoom was flushed to the outside to begin his journey toward the leaders.
In the stretch, Always a Vavoom took over and had to fend off several challengers, with Siskel and Brandon Bates making the biggest surge toward the leader. But Always a Vavoom was strong to the finish line, winning by one-half length in 1:55.3, a final quarter in :29.4. Siskel was second followed by Crusoe Hanover and Brett Miller for third. Siskel was claimed from the race.
Always a Vavoom paid $13.60 for his win. The seven-year-old son of Always a Virgin is owned by Freedom Stables LLC of Ohio and trained by Jeff Fickert. Cottonwood Farm bred the gelding, who was making his second start of 2023. He now has a win and a second to kick off his seven-year-old campaign. Overall, he has 12 wins in 104 starts with purses of more than $211,000. His career best time was taken as a five-year-old in 1:52.2 at Dayton Gaming.
Always a Vavom was a solid two-year-old, taking a mark of 1:52.3 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park under the direction of Trainer Roger Welch. He won several preliminary rounds of the Indiana Sires Stakes series and scored a win in the Fox Stake at the Indiana State Fair in 2018 with John DeLong in the bike. Always a Vavoom was claimed in Indiana and headed to Ohio before being claimed a few more times. He joined the Fickett Stable at Scioto Downs last summer. The most recent win was his second in his last three starts, ending 2022 on a winning note.
Always a Vavoom is a son of the Camluck brood mare Vavoom Hanover. She has had 11 foals to date, with seven of them taking records. Her quickest son is Bass Player, a gelding by Sportsmaster with a mark of 1:49.3 and earnings over $200,000. Her richest is Voom or Bang, a full sister to Always a Vavoom with more than $430,000 in earnings and a mark of 1:51.0. The family has a two-year-old in 2023 named Zoom Voom by Always a Virgin. The filly was bred and is owned by William C. and William P. DeLong.
Also a winner on the card was Swan Fashion, another trotter from the John Barnard operation. Swan Fashion turned in a gate to wire effort for driver Trevor Smith to win by more than two lengths in 1:59.1. Luis “Tony” Quevedo trains the six-year-old mare by Swan for All, who was bred by Oakwood Farms. She now has six career wins and more than $124,000 in earnings for Barnard. Her best time of 1:55.1 was taken as both a four and five-year-old in 1:55.1 at Harrah’s Hoosier Park.