Her name not withstanding, Neolithic mare cruised down the lane

Vanishing Wish’s lead was anything but vanishing in the lane in a five-furlong race on the turf at Belterra Park, culminating in her finest performance in four years.

The 5-year-old daughter of Neolithic shot to the lead under Santiago Gonzalez, whistled through on top via fractions of :21.92 and :45.23, then coasted away in the stretch to score by six widening lengths, clocked in :56.89, just 1 1/5 seconds off the course record. The mare bred by Just For Fun Stable registered her best Equibase ‘E’ speed figure in her 25 races, and now sports a record of 2-3-5. She was 12-1 on the morning line but paid just $11.60, and the check for $5,760 increased her career total to $58,440.