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>Seaford, DE --- If you’d asked horseman Ed Gannon Jr. about pacing mare Vintage Babe in mid-November, he admits he wouldn’t have had much positive to say.


The Standardbred Mixed Sale purchase kicked when he jogged her and put in a lackluster performance during her first start for her new connections.


“She didn’t impress me at all,” he said.


Two months and six wins later, Gannon is one of her biggest fans.


“After the first week, we were just hoping to get our money back over the course of the year,” he said. “Now that we’ve gotten to race her a bit I think she’s got a lot of promise.”


Gannon partnered with driver Yannick Gingras and New York owners Frank Canzone and Ronald Sabatini to purchase then 3-year-old Vintage Babe (Vintage Master-Bunkhouse Babe) for $40,000 at Harrisburg's Standardbred Mixed Sale.


Gannon said they were looking for a young horse to race at Dover and on paper, she looked to fit the bill.


“She didn’t have too many starts and she showed some gate speed,” he said. “I looked at her and she was strong built, like a stud horse.”


Once he got her home, however, his enthusiasm waned. He didn’t like the way she tried to kick while she was jogging and was discouraged by the lack of interest she showed in her first start for him at Harrah’s Philadelphia. She finished fourth, pacing in 1:56.


While neither Gannon nor Gingras were thrilled, they both had some changes in mind for Vintage Babe. Gannon said Gingras recommended a shoeing change while he fiddled with the mare’s daily routine. He discovered that Vintage Babe didn’t kick if he jogged her in a hood. He also made a point to turn the mare out more and began a training regimen of lots of slow miles as opposed to fast trips.


Apparently the changes did the trick.


When Gannon took the mare to Dover Downs on Nov. 29, she came from behind in a field of non-winners of five fillies and mares to win by a length in 1:53.1. She hasn’t been beaten since.


On Dec. 6 and Dec. 13 she proved victorious against non-winners of $60,001 lifetime competition, winning in 1:54.3 and 1:53.4.


She kicked off the new year with a win in the non-winners of $80,001 lifetime on Jan. 3 and lowered her record to 1:52.2 on Jan. 10 in the same class. In spite of a sloppy track, she put in another 1:52.2 performance, again against similar company, to win on Jan. 17.


“She’s game,” Gannon said. “She tries.”


He attributes the mare’s string of recent success to an improved attitude. He says he sees the difference every day when he turns the mare out.


“Now that she’s been happier all she does is run around like a baby,” he said. “She’s feeling good.”


He didn’t enter the mare last week, as he makes a habit of giving his horses a week off after they’ve raced three or four weeks in a row.


“The objective is to keep them fresh all year long,” he said. “We’re a small stable so we like our stable to race all year.”


He’s hopeful Vintage Babe, who is back in at Dover on Tuesday (Jan. 31), will stay strong through 2017. While he’s certainly pleased with her so far, he pointed out that she doesn’t even have 20 lifetime starts yet.


“She’s very versatile and she’s learning every week,” he said.


While she’ll stay at Dover for now, Gannon says Vintage Babe will be tested on a half-mile track this spring as she’s set to race in the Petticoat Series at Yonkers Raceway.


“She’s racing good,” Gannon said. “Hopefully she’ll continue to.”