A Ransom Wins His Third Vessels Maturity

A Ransom became the first horse to win the Vessels Maturity three times and moved closer to millionaire status with a record-setting victory in the Grade I on Saturday night at Los Alamitos.

Owned by John and Kathie Bobenrieth and trained by Connie Hall, the 6-year-old gelding and 3-5 favorite collected his 20th win in 31 starts and the winner’s share of the $125,000 purse left him with $987,056 in earnings for his career. When A Ransom reaches seven figures, he will become the 34th quarter horse to hit the plateau.

Ridden by regular jockey Carlos Bautista, the California-bred gelding broke well from Post 7 in the field of nine and the Maturity was basically over. Without any real encouragement from Batista, A Ransom completed the 400 yards in a stakes-record 19.42 seconds. In each of his three wins in the Maturity, he has improved upon his final time. He won in 19.58 in 2000 and went 19.44 last year.

With his latest success, A Ransom earned a spot in the $500,000 Champion Of Champions on Dec. 14. The winner of that Grade I in 2000, he finished third behind Tailor Fit and Hawkinson as the 1-2 favorite last year.

“Right now, he’s as good as he’s ever been,” said Hall. “The real Ransom showed up for work tonight. I’m a little surprised at the time. He just keeps on breaking his own records.”