Boivin: Former banker chasing dream as jockey
(From The Arizona Republic Dec. 7, 2016)
 
By Paola Boivin
AZ Central Sports
 
Reality strangleholds our sports dreams as we grow old. As adolescence passes, so do visions of becoming the next Mia Hamm or Michael Jordan.
Except for Vanessa Romberg. She couldn’t let go. Not at 20, not at 30 and not even at 39, when she abandoned an accomplished career as an investment banker to become a jockey.
On Wednesday, she competed in two races at Turf Paradise, another stop on a remarkable trajectory considering her late-in-life start, her background and the physical demands of the job.
“This is my dream,” she said.

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The best of the state breds delivered as favorites winning all four of the Arizona bred stakes Saturday at Turf Paradise.
 
$25,000 Cactus Flower
Trainer F.C. Frazier took the top two spots with 3-2 favorite Sierrita ($5.00) with David Lopez up pulling away to a 4 ¾ length win in the final sixteenth of a mile from stablemate Myrna Lou. Mobiledixie finished third in the field of six fillies and mares.
 
Sierrita, a daughter of Top Hit, covered the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:18.52 for owners Linden Hatch and Brent Stapley for her fourth victory in 13 career efforts for earnings of $43,198.
 
$36,513 Az Breeders’ Futurity
Triple AAA Ranch’s first-time starter Kingsley ($4.40) ground down the pace-setting Bring On the Bling with an eighth of a mile to the wire. Top Hat Wildcat edged out Bring On the Bling for the place in the field of six 2-year-old fillies.
 
Scott Stevens was aboard Kingsley, also a daughter of Top Hit, and covered the 6 furlongs in 1:14.26 for trainer Kory Owens. Kingsley earned $19,398 for her first lifetime victory
 
Triple AAA Ranch was winning this race for the third time in 21 runnings, having notched victories in 2011 with Sallyana and Rockin On in 2003.
 
$37,833 Az Breeders’ Futurity, Colts & Geldings
In a dominating performance, the 1-9 prohibitive favorite Yo Y Me ($2.20) literally walked away from his six rivals, winning as he pleased by seven daylight lengths. Sedona Sunrise finished second with Top Rocket third in the field of seven 2-year-olds.
 
Trained by Kevin Eikleberry and ridden by the trainer’s son Ry, Yo Y Me covered the 6-furlongs in 1:11.45.
 
Owned in partnership by the trainer, William Matthews and Lloyd Yother, Yo Y Me, a son of Dixie Chatter, was scoring his second stakes score and third win out of seven efforts for earnings of $107,854.
 
To note: Rounding off show pool - $144,000 out of $161,000 bet to show was wagered on Yo Y Me.
 
$25,000 Cactus Wren
The fourth of the favorites, Tamara Metzen’s Rockin Home ($5.60), with Larren Delorme in full urging, surged away from a cavalry charge in the last 20 yards to claim a length victory over Coolidge who was a half-length ahead of Ride Hard Kowboy in the field of eight older horses.
 
Trained by David Van Winkle, the consistent Rockin Home, who won this race in 2014 and a son of Rocky Bar, covered the 6 ½ furlongs in 1:17.58 to claim his seventh win in 27 starts for earnings of $175,083.
 
Note: Triple AAA Ranch bred three of Saturday’s four winners. 

A quartet of stakes races for Arizona breds will occupy half of the eight-race card Saturday at Turf Paradise.
 
The track continues with its 5-day a week live race schedule – Saturday thru Wednesday – until the Christmas Holidays. Post time is 12:40 pm.
 
The Four Az Bred Stakes
The $25,000 Cactus Flower, Fillies and Mares, 3-year-olds and up, 6 ½ furlongs.
The $38,035 Az Breeders’ Futurity, Fillies, 2-year-olds, 6 furlongs.
The $39,410 Az Breeders’ Futurity, Colts & Geldings, 2-year-olds, 6 furlongs.
The $25,000 Cactus Wren, 3-year-olds and up, 6 ½ furlongs.
 
The Cactus Flower
Although the field size is compact of six – evenly split between three and four year-old fillies  – the race comes up highly competitive.
Eight-time winner Myrna Lou will dominate attention with her $160,000+ in earnings and her 18 in-the-money performances in 31 starts.
The lightly raced stakes winner Lieutenant Margie will be making her key second start of a layoff.
Though she’s been off since July, Mobiledixie’s work tab indicates she may be ready to fire a winning effort off the bench.
 
Az Breeders’ Futurity, Fillies
Only one of the six juveniles has broken her maiden, Top Hat Wildcat, who went on to be stakes placed, after finishing a well-beaten second in the November 5 ATBA Sales Stakes.
Of interest is the first-time starter from the prodigious Triple AAA Ranch, Kingsley. Bred to be a good one – Top Hit out of French Debutante – Kingsley began her preparatory workouts at Oaklawn Park and continued them at Del Mar, including a bullet work November 13, of :48.1, best of 21, from the gate.
 
Az Breeders’ Futurity, Colts & Geldings
The highly talented, Kevin Eikleberry-trained Yo Y Me figures to be the post time favorite, given his race record: 6 starts, 2 wins, 3 seconds and one third. This includes a victory in the Nov. 5 ATBA Sales Stakes. The son of Dixie Chatter was purchased for $17,000 out of the 2015 Arizona Breeders’ sale. His current bankroll stands at $86,858.
Triple AAA shows up again with another first-time starter: the colt, Kickenit. The son of Uh Oh Bango has recorded no less than a dozen works, also at Oaklawn and Del Mar, for his maiden debut.
 
The Cactus Wren
The fullest of the stake races with nine entrants has attracted a competitive cast of nine dominated by the prolific sire Rocky Bar.
The Rocky Bars include, Rocked Twice, winner of seven of 23 starts; JP Rocker, victorious in six of 24 efforts and Rockin Home with six wins in 26 efforts to his credit. The one thing these three have in common, outside of the fact each has won a stakes races is, they like to play the game on the lead.
This race has an over-abundance of speed, which will insure an honest pace. It may also suggest the possibility of a closer getting up in the final strides. With that in mind look for Ride Hard Kowboy, winner of the Nov. 26 Walter Cluer Stakes at one mile (turf); or the well-traveled Coolidge, or the quickly improving Hawkeye Gold.