SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: A NEAR PERFECT HORSE, TRAINER, JOCKEY AND OWNERSHIP COMBINATION

By Graham Potter | Sunday, January 19, 2020

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

A lot has been written about the Sunshine Coast’s very own champion racehorse Alligator Blood over the last couple of weeks … that is because there has been a lot to write about.

There is the horse itself … a once semi-belligerent character who has thrived under the coaxing and knowledgeable understanding of a fine horseman in trainer David Vandyke to slowly learn when to save energy and know when to channel it into action on the track where it can merge with his stunning, all around ability to maximum effect when it matters most.

Then there is that hard-working, precision orientated, attention to every detail stable team of David Vandyke, his stable foreman Emma Lehmann and their staff.

The intensity they put into every facet of making sure that every aspect of the horses training and care is of benefit to the horse is quite fascinating in its own right.

While luck will always be a factor in a horse race, the Vandyke team’s process eliminates risk to the n’th degree and their prowess for producing the goods under those guidelines has been clear for all to see. The way they conduct their operation is second to none.

Then there is Alligator Blood’s regular jockey Ryan Maloney. Maloney is a top tier rider and, as he displayed so brilliantly in Alligator Blood’s huge Magic Millions Guineas win last Saturday, he has the temperament to match that ability and, again, when those factors combine it almost makes the jockey as hard to beat as the horse he is riding.

Then there is Alligator Blood’s ownership group … an unpretentious trio with no demands, fancy expectations or feelings of personal grandeur. They, for the most part, take a back seat, grateful for what they have got with Alligator Blood and very happy to enjoy their good fortune with the horse.

They loved Alligator Blood before it was winning $2 million races and the ‘not for sale’ sign went up some time ago, even though they were fielding offers that would have made even the most wealthy of businessmen spill their tea.

And so it is, that all of these moving parts have come together in what is really a perfect storm in terms of creating the ideal horse, trainer, jockey and owner combination to trouble the opposition and every person who has contributed to the rise and rise of Alligator Blood unquestionable deserves every success that comes their way.

It’s been a fascinating story so far.

The Sunshine Coast community can be justifiable proud of its champion and of those who have helped Alligator Blood gain that status.

They will have to share Alligator Blood from here on in though because he is Queensland’s boom horse now and there is a very good chance that he will go on to be embraced by the southern states who notoriously take a sit against Queenslanders until they have no option but to join in the applause.

For now, though, that applause on the home front is thunderous … and deservedly so!

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