Wine Collector’s switch from the main track to the turf course resulted in a front-running victory in a maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds Saturday at Colonial Downs.
The chestnut colt is the fifth winner for Flameway, tying him for the top spot on the First-Crop Sire list. Flameaway is also one of only two freshman sires with a stakes winner.
Wine Collector, who was making his first start around two turns, broke sharply and took a narrow lead into the first turn. Rum Tun Tugger pressured the leader for six furlongs before giving way. Wine Collector then held off the late charge of the debuting Copper Missile (a son of fellow Darby Dan freshman sire Copper Bullet) by three-quarters of a length on the wire.
Wine Collector races for Lugamo Racing Stable LLC and J R Sanchez Racing Stable, who purchased the colt for $50,000 out of the 2023 OBS March 2-year-old sale.
Wine Collector was bred in Kentucky by Colleen Fox and Isabella Cerrone and is a half-brother to stakes winner A Lot of Spunk.
