Late money came for Alligator Blood at Flemington on Saturday and David Vandyke’s exciting three-year-old did not disappoint.
Only a fortnight on from winning the CS Hayes Stakes against New Zealand rival Catalyst, the pair lined up one more time in the Group 1 Australia Guineas with the world expecting an all-out sprint to the finish.
Catalyst, who lost by no more than a nose to Alligator Blood last time out, was installed as the favourite all week with punters jumping on board at the $2.90 tag.
Some late money came for Alligator Blood though, and the front-runner did not disappoint racing away at the 200m mark to win comfortably by a length.
Nothing came easy in the run however, as jockey Ryan Maloney had plenty of work to do from the barriers to establish a spot on the fence.
Alligator Blood, above, is this year’s All-Star Mile favourite. Photo: Steve Hart.
In the end, Australia’s new favourite horse not only extended his winning streak to five, but also won his first Group 1 race.
“He won with authority, he did it for Queensland, he did it for the owners, he did it for All Too Hard his stallion, he did it for Ryan, it was just an amazing performance at Group 1 level in a top class field, so I’m just blown away” trainer David Vandyke said.
“You can’t quantify guts. You can look at the form and you can think where he might finish in the field. But his determination and will to win has gone to a new level, and he’d been here at Flemington before and he’d led before. He was softened up a bit early, but did he want to win? Yes he did.”
After so much build up, Catalyst failed to run a place after missing his stride down the straight.
Alabama Express also had no such luck finishing at the very rear of the field.
Superstorm, however, came home strongly for second with Soul Patch not far behind.
Alligator Blood will now look ahead to the All-Star Mile at Flemington in a fortnight’s time as the $3.00 favourite. Ladbrokes’ complete market can be viewed here.
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