FULL DETAILS OF THAT ALLIGATOR BLOOD ROAD TRIP REVEALED. YOU WOULDN'T WANT THAT OVER AGAIN
By Emma Lehmann with Graham Potter | Saturday, January 18, 2020
For the record, contrary to popular belief generated by several media reports and propagated by word of mouth, Alligator Blood did NOT receive a police escort to the track after being caught up in traffic gridlock on the M1 on the way to the Gold Coast racetrack on Saturday. That did not make his journey any less dramatic. It is now a matter of record that race times were put back, Alligator Blood made it to the course on time to meet an adjusted deadline and duly performed like a short-priced favourite should, taking out the $2 million Magic Millions Guineas in sizzling style.
For trainer David Vandyle, the relief was palpable … as it was for stable foreman Emma Lehmann. Emma, an integral part of the Vandyke team, had more to deal with than most in those critical hours leading up to race time. She was the driver of the float ferrying Alligator Blood from his Sunshine Coast base to the Gold Coast. Up until now, we all could only imagine what she going through during time. Now, courtesy of Emma graciously agreeing to talk to HRO’s Graham Potter and to describe moments she wouldn’t want to go through again, the full, accurate picture of what transpired on that tough, troubled, tortuous road trip to eventual glory can be revealed. This is Emma’s story, exclusive to HRO.
“I had Tara Pitt with me. We actually left out stables three hours before we had to be at the track. It normally takes two hours and fifteen minutes so we allowed forty-five minutes extra.
“I had spoken to David and we decided I would just cruise along at 90km an hour. We left at 10.15am and we were going along quite nicely until … it must have been about 11.30am or 11.45 when we started to hit a little bit of traffic.
"That is not unusual going down there so initially we weren’t overly worried but … from that time it was probably only about fifteen to twenty minutes maximum that the traffic quickly became a serious problem for us.
“We saw on one of the signs that there had been a crash. I was watching my Navman and it said we were now only going to get there at 1pm … and I thought, gee that’s pushing it. We were supposed to be there at 1.15pm.
"That was bad enough, but then just about every thirty seconds another minute was being added on to our arrival time. By then we had stopped and come to a standstill.
“I asked Tara to call David and tell him we are not going to make it and that he would have to go to the stewards. I honestly didn’t think we were going to get there.
“We tried to look at alternate route. It was taking us inland and that was adding hours onto the trip. I knew if you go inland from the Gold Coast it can get quite windy and hilly and we were in a big, seven horse truck. I didn’t want to be going up and down and round and round in that … but the time factor ruled that route out anyway.
“I really didn’t think we were going to make it.
“Then, obviously, the realisation hits you like a shock. It’s not just the emotion from that day or that moment. It was also the emotion from the build-up, the whole week. You know, everything we had put into it. We’d been stressed for two weeks and then we find ourselves sitting in that position and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“Obviously, Tara and I were both very emotional. I did cry because I thought of everything we’d worked through and thought of David’s hope that this could turn out to be one of the biggest moments in his career … and I thought, all of that, and I can’t even get the horse to the races on time.
“I had to tell myself to keep calm.
“Alligator Blood (Al) was doing ok. He normally wears a compression hood with the ear muffs but I had spoken to David and we elected to leave it off because it was so hot. It’s got lycra so they do sweat in them.
“Al didn’t have that on and when we started to get really stuck in traffic … with the stop and start and just moving so slowly … he was starting to paw a bit, so he was getting restless but he wasn’t throwing himself around or shaking the truck or anything like that … just pawing a little bit.
“David called me and he said you just need to keep the truck moving however you can and he asked if there was any way we could get off the highway. We were coming up to the Helensvale exit and David said get off the highway.
“Obviously, the communication was very tense between all of us. It was very direct and we just tried to stay focussed on what we were doing. I think everyone of us was trying to stay calm because I think if one of us had lost it the whole thing would have imploded.
“Once we got off the highway we moved a bit but, obviously, every second person was trying to get off the highway so we were still in traffic … but now we were on the backroads with roundabouts, single lanes and traffic lights … so it was slow progress and I wasn’t going to try to go too fast. We still had to give Al a good ride.
“The first update we got from the track was that stewards had said if we could get there an hour before (the original start time) they would be happy.
“Then, when I realised I wasn’t even going to get there an hour before, David mentioned they had talked about putting the races back. That’s when things became kind of a blur for me. I don’t think I even knew how far back the races were because we had become so focussed on what we needed to do when we did arrive at the track … and, for the record, at no stage did we have police escort to help us to get there.
“A new deadline time for arrival was never mentioned to me so that was never a factor in my mind. By the time we had got moving again our ETA was 2.28pm, David called probably every two-and-a-half minutes to check asking, what’s your ETA now … what’s your ETA? That’s why 2.28pm is ingrained in our brain because every time David called in over that last half an hour it was 2.28!
“So, we didn’t know about any new deadline and I just assumed if we were too late and we were not going to make it David would have told us.
“David said, as soon as you get here this is what I need you to do. We ran through everything … exactly how it was going to happen when we got to the track. What was going to happen first? Where we were going to take things? Who was going to do what? Who was going to grab what?
“We tried to make sure we had everything very well organised. Also, you know, horses can sense when things aren’t right so we all had to try to remain really calm when we got there.
“Of course, once our part was done, you had a hundred people wanting to ask you what happened? Where did you go? How are you feeling … when we just wanted some time to ourselves … and, of course, everything was still far from over.
“Even after Ryan (Maloney) was legged up and Al went out onto the track we still had to endure those pre-race issues at the start and then, finally, the pressure of the race itself.
“Tara and I weren’t even standing up watching the race. We just sat next to where they did the presentations.
“Then, when Al went over the line there was maybe thirty seconds of celebration and then just pure relief. I was just so relieved.
“He is such a magnificent horse and it is so great he has such a big following. You know, because you are part of it you think that’s why you see all of the media and the hype around him, but I think even those on the outside see and understand the extra hype and media following around the horse. They understand why he deserves so much attention and they are happy to be part of it.
“I think it is great that people feel like that.
“After all that … no, there wasn’t time or energy enough for any big celebration.
“We did stop at the BP and got takeaway food for dinner because none of us had eaten all day. With all that had been going we just forgot to eat … but that was about it.
“We didn’t get back to the stables until 9pm because we got all of the traffic again on the way home. It was raining the whole way back and, obviously, we’d worked in the morning and then we worked all day.
“By that time we were just happy to get home and go to bed."
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