Vivid Photo ready for Titan Cup

June 29, 2007

After battling an infection in his foot earlier this year, Vivid Photo is back on track and ready to pounce in the $240,000 Titan Cup on Saturday night at the Meadowlands. The 2005 Hambletonian winner drew post three in the Titan Cup.

Driver, trainer and co-owner Roger Hammer will be in the sulky. Vivid Photo enters Saturday�s race with a record of two wins and two seconds in four starts this season.

After a 1:55 score in his first start of the year at Pocono Downs, Vivid Photo developed an infection in his foot just prior to the first round of the Classic Series on April 9 at Dover Downs. The ailment sidelined the trotter for two months.

�Roger had to scratch him [out of the Classic Series] and the horse was under the care of Dr. Patty Hogan at the New Jersey Equine Clinic,� said the gelding�s co-owner, Todd Schadel. �She did a wonderful job and he�s back again. It wasn�t life threatening, but it was pretty serious.�

A renewed Vivid Photo returned in a Classic Series leg on June 9 at Mohawk, in which he just missed nailing Sand Vic at the wire. The following week, he captured the $250,000 Classic Series Final at a distance of a mile and three-eighths. In his first start at the Meadowlands this year, Vivid Photo finished second to Mr Muscleman in last week�s prep race for the Titan Cup.

�Last week, Roger said he was strong and was happy the way he raced, but they worked on him after the race,� Schadel said. �He had tons of trot and he was jammed in late. He isn�t 100 percent yet and I�m not sure how he is this week. I haven�t heard anything, so I�m assuming everything�s OK.�

One of racing�s greatest underdogs, Vivid Photo was a little-known gelding who took Hammer and Schadel on a miraculous journey from the Pennsylvania fair circuit to the winner�s circle of the $1.5 million Hambletonian in 2005 at the Meadowlands. The trip began at the 2003 yearling sale in Harrisburg, Pa.

�Roger picked him out as a yearling and asked me to go partners with him,� Schadel recalled. �He had looked at him beforehand and told me this was a nice colt coming into the ring. He was at $25,000, and I said go ahead and hit him again, but if you want me to go in on him you have to train him. I just didn�t like SJ�s Photos. We ended up getting him for $30,000.�

Vivid Photo won four of his six starts at two, which was enough to convince Hammer to keep him eligible to the Hambletonian, the premier event in harness racing. However, Schadel was not convinced.

�He told me this was a very nice horse, but I really didn�t think too much of it at the time,� he said. �Then, a couple of races before the eliminations, he won in 1:54.4 at Pocono Downs and Roger said �I told you so.� He doesn�t usually say too much, but he�s done a heck of a job with the horse and made all of the right decisions.

�Of course, I was surprised when he won, but when the draw came out, I was at Freehold,� Schadel continued. �Roger called me up to tell me we drew post six and Classic Photo [the favorite] had the five-hole. He told me we were set and all he had to do was follow him and, at the top of the stretch, we�ll blow right by. I said �You think?� He said, �I don�t think, I know.� Aside from that great win, Vivid Photo has just been such a good horse for us."

Now five, Vivid Photo has won 29 of his 56 career starts and earned $2.2 million. Although he could not replicate his outstanding sophomore season, in which he won 16 races, Vivid Photo made a successful transition into the older ranks last year. Despite a minor setback, he concluded 2006 with seven wins, including the $250,000 Classic Series Final, and $607,100 in earnings.

�Last year, he was just a 4 year old trying older horses for the first time, and horses like Sand Vic were extremely tough,� Schadel said. �Then, when Roger took him to Chicago for the American-National in August, he tied up. After one race out there, they must have emptied a case of intravenous fluids through him. Sometimes it just happens with a change of scenery. Once he got him cleared up he was all go again and finished the year strong, and that was very satisfying.�

Schadel trains an 18-horse stable based at the fairgrounds in Gratz, Pa.

�Roger and I hooked up racing the Pennsylvania fairs and I guess the first horse we had together was Keystone Wesley,� he said. �Roger had him as a 2 year old in 1997 and we�ve been partners on a bunch ever since.� (Meadowlands press release)

$240,000 Titan Cup � Race 8, Saturday, June 29
PP, Horse, Driver, Trainer, Odds
1, Ripped, Greg Merton, Gary Napierala, 12-1
2, Bacardi Lindy, Cat Manzi, Steve Elliott, 20-1
3, Vivid Photo, Roger Hammer, Roger Hammer, 4-1
4, Sand Vic, Brian Sears, Trond Smedshammer, 7-2
5, Hez Striking, George Brennan, Richard Norman, 15-1
6, Corleone Kosmos, John Campbell, Ross Croghan, 5-1
7, Mr Muscleman, Ron Pierce, Noel Daley, 2-1
8, Man About Town, Tim Tetrick, Mark Silva, 12-1
9, Swan Image, David Miller, Ross Croghan, 8-1

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