Sunshine Coast trainer David Vandyke can only see further improvement from his stable star Alligator Blood when he steps up to 1400m in the $2m Gold Coast Magic Millions 3yo Guineas at the Gold Coast on January 11.
Alligator Blood, above, is the short priced favourite for the 2020 Magic Millions 3yo Guineas at the Gold Coast. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Alligator Blood was denied a Group 1 win when nabbed on the line when a nose second to Super Seth in the $2m Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 12 but has returned in great order with a dominant first up win in the Listed $200,000 Pages Gold Edition Plate (1200m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
Vandyke is still to decide if Alligator Blood will have another lead up run into the Magic Millions 3yo Guineas but he is excited at the prospect of seeing the All Too Hard gelding step up in distance.
“I can’t wait for the 1400m at the Gold Coast,” Vandyke said after the gelding toyed with his opposition in the Gold Edition Plate.
Alligator Blood had raced on the pace during his 2019 Melbourne Spring Carnival campaign but Vandyke was pleased to see that he could settle in behind the speed at Eagle Farm last Saturday.
“Before the race I thought he had improved and he showed us out there then, he was happy to sit back, he was happy to relax and he knew where the business end was,” Vandyke said.
“I think we’re seeing a better horse now that knows what he’s doing.
“They were going slowish there in the middle stages and he just put them to the sword.”
Alligator Blood is a dominant favourite for the Magic Millions 3yo Guineas at $2.40 with Ladbrokes.com.au, way clear of his nearest rival in the betting, the Mark Newnham trained Diamond Thunder at $7 while this year’s Magic Millions 2yo Classic winner Exhilarates and the Tony and Calvin McEvoy trained Grand Scholar share the next line of betting at $12.
Early betting for the 2020 Magic Millions 3yo Guineas at Ladbrokes.com.au: $2.40 Alligator Blood, $7 Diamond Thunder, $12 Exhilarates, Grand Scholar, $15 King Of Hastings, Missile Mantra, $17 Hightail, Superium, $21 Eleven Eleven, $26 Dubious, Profit, The Odyssey, $31 It’s Kind Of Magic, Leviathan, Scout, Star Surprise, Time To Reign, $34 Hawker Hurricane, $51 or better the rest.
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