VRRROOM WINS $40,000 LOS ALAMITOS JUVENILE
LOS ALAMITOS, CA—DECEMBER 13, 2008—Owned by Jim and Marilyn Helzer, the Shazoom colt Vrrroom outdueled Governor's Cup Futurity winner Hard Hitting by a nose to win the $40,000 Los Alamitos Invitational Juvenile at 400 yards.
Ridden by Alex Bautista for trainer Blane Schvaneveldt, Vrrroom covered the distance in :19.63. Jerry Windham, who earlier this week was released from a Houston hospital after a two-week stay, bred Vrrroom.
"We saw this colt run in Ruidoso and just miss the All American Futurity," said Jim Helzer, the AQHA First Vice President and AQHA President in 2009. "He qualified to the consolation there but the decision was made not to run him in that race. We decided to buy him then, figuring that if you spend $300,000 for a yearling, why not buy a horse that's already there, a proven runner?"
Vrrroom arrived to Los Alamitos about a month ago and quickly delivered a solid second to A Tempting Dash, while missing qualifying to the Los Alamitos Two Million Futurity by only 1/100ths of a second. His performance in the Juvenile, which earned him $16,000, now establishes him as one to watch in the derbies in 2009.
"We might leave him here and point him to the Los Alamitos Winter Derby or maybe we'll go to Louisiana with him," Helzer said. "We don't know just yet."
