A HORSE PAYING ITS WAY IS NOT ALL ABOUT WINNING

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Training is a tough gig that can takes a person’s emotions to a new level.

When you are not finishing in the money, it can be worrying. When are there, but come up just short it is frustrating ... and, of course, the wonderful world of being a winner and the elation that comes with it is the cure for it all.

The David Vandyke stable went through a lot of that in August.

Orbisyn was the stable’s torch-bearing bringing a bright light to proceedings when securing his third successive win at Doomben on August 19, taking his record to an amazing eight wins from only sixteen starts, underlining just how well the Vandyke team has managed Orbisyn through some very testing times.

On the other side of the coin though, was the so near yet so far story.

From July 30 until the end of the first half of August, Vandyke saddled no less than five runner-up finishers ... On Hold (twice), So Bene, Lost His Beans and Island Tide and with only one of those results showing the Vandyke horse being beaten by more than a length-and-a-half.

Add the four third placings that the stable recorded over the August period into that mix and the total of placed runners moves to nine.

While winning is the name of the game and always the preferred option, it is important to a stable to keep their connections satisfied by having their runners pay their way in the first instance and, while they could not match the Orbisyn result, all of those the runners who finished in the placings here played their part in ensuring that goal was met.

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