Jupiter The Sea entered the Equinics with only 2 starts under her belt in trainer winlist's barn but the talented miss brought home gold to California as she wired the field to win the Hermes Winged Flight-G2 last Saturday at Vermont. The 2 year old daughter of Machiavellian and a Lyphard mare crossed the line a length ahead of a hard running Provellian representing philcan2 and Nevada while Muse (browns) closed for the bronze back 6 1/2 lengths for Nebraska. Auror Storm (auror) finished 4th for Iowa back 13 and Madyson's Hi (phillipj) finished 5th by 15 3/4 lengths for the host track. The final time for the 8 furlong turf tilt was 1.36 2/5.

Jupiter The Sea broke like lightning from the #12 post and secured the lead on the rail as the first furlong was run. She extended the margin to about 3 lengths after the first 1/4 over Provellian and Julie G while Gots The Gold Teef and Auror Storm ran a length or two behind them. By the half pole, the leader was free wheeling to a 4 1/2 length advantage over Provellian as the other chasers began to wilt a little. Jupiter The Sea entered the stretch still clear by 3 1/2 lengths but Provellian, reaponding to her rider's urging, was gradually narrowing the gap as they made their final run. Julie G and Gots The Gold Teeth were through for the day and the only runner with apparent interest was Muse as she passed the tiring horses. Jupiter The Sea continued to run her heart out down the strtch but she did appear to be tiring as Provellian steadily made up the difference. The finish line loomed and the leader's class and guts revealed themselves as she retained enough momentum to cross the line a length to the good. Provellian thrilled the crowd as well as she too went all out but just came up short. Muse also finished well as she maintained her stride down the lane and made up several lengths on the winner. Auror Storm started farther farther back than usual and essentially ran an even race for 4th.

The victory marked the 2nd win in 3 starts for the lightly raced Jupiter The Sea and boosted her earnings to the tune of $313,150. She exploded with a 94 SR, some 19 points higher than her previous best and truly delivered an electrifying performance from the start to the finish. Provellian ran her finest to date as the #1 ranked 2 year old filly posted an impressive 94 SR. She posed a serious challenge to the winner and never quit until the race was done. Muse proved to be the best of the rest as she coasted through through the early fractions then picked up her pace to earn a lifetime best 86 SR. It looks like the daughter of Danzig will enjoy even more ground than was offered here. Auror Storm was a little disappointing as the 5-2 co-favorite but she will undoubtably rebound another day. Madyson's Hi was touted by many, including this corner, but just never got into the race although she did pick up the smallest cheque. The remaining finishers in order were Alyjet (celticcros for Ireland), Julie G (medusa for Minnesota), Gots The Gold Teef (sabbath for the Vikings), Queenavenger (I>theavenger for Delaware), Creme Anglaise (jhenry for New York), Ridge Lauren (llc for North Carolina) and Brilliant Speed (zokker for Longchamps).

The mutuals were generous for the insightful punter. Jupiter The Sea returned $19.60, 8.50 and 6.90 while Provellian paid $3.90 and 3.20 as 5-2 co-favorite and Muse returned $8.30 to show as a 13-1 long shot. The exacta was a pleasing $78.50 while the tri was a rousing $822.60.

Congratulations to the winning connections of Jupiter The Sea and indeed to all participants in the event. A great big Thank You to ldyssecret and her band of volunteers around the sim for the funnest day in a long long time.