Value Plus' son Triple A. Rating made short work of the field in a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct on Mar. 27, winning by a comfortable 3 3/4-lengths in the six furlong dash.

The race was never in doubt as Triple A. Rating shot right to the lead out of the gate, going up by a length just a few jumps after the start. He increased the margin slightly around the turn, and then pulled away with authority in the stretch, despite no urging from his jockey Fernando Jara, who spent most of the stretch run looking back for his non-existent competition.  The final time was a spry 1:10 3/5.

Triple A. Rating was making his second lifetime start; he was third in his debut at Aqueduct earlier in the month. His victory was worth $24,000 for owner Starlight Partners. He is trained by Todd Pletcher, who also conditioned Value Plus.  Starlight purchased Triple A. Rating for $160,000 at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky summer yearling sale.

Casa's Value scores at Penn National

The day before Triple A. Rating got his first win, another 3-year-old by Value Plus did the same at Penn National. Casa's Value didn't go wire-to-wire, but the filly won with the same authority as Triple A. Rating, taking the one-mile race by 4 1/4-lengths.

Value Plus currently is ranked fifth on the 2010 North American second-crop sire list, with his offspring earning $362,633 through Mar. 27.