DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR VANDYKE AT THE SUNSHINE COAST
By Graham Potter | Sunday, November 26, 2023
A Friday night, Sunday afternoon home track (Sunshine Coast) double on November 24 and November 26 kept the scoreboard rolling along very nicely for the David Vandyke stable.
The Friday night winner came in the form of the three-year-old gelding Lost His Beans who shed his maiden ticket in a QTIS Three-Year-Old Maiden Handicap over 1000m in his second career start.
It had been a very patient process getting the son of Spill The Beans to race readiness with his first start coming after four trials between February 7 and July 25 ... before Vandyke sent him straight to town to debut over 1200m at Doomben on August 9.
While the trails served their purpose, Spill The Beans did not show to any great advantage in any of those four trials, so he jumped at a starting price of $15 in his debut outing where he raced above market expectations to finish in an eye-catching second place, a little over a length behind the $2.80 favourite Deep Respect (who would go on to win again two starts later).
Lost His Beans then had three-and-a-half month break before taking on this Sunshine Coast assignment where, on the back of his runner-up finish on debut, he started favourite at $2, even though he had to carry the steadying burden of 60kg and give a weight advantage (between 1.5kg and 5kg) to every one of his six rivals.
Lost His Beans wasn’t the best away but mustered enough early speed to quickly join the leading line before settling in third place, two lengths off the lead and two lengths ahead of the $3.60 favourite Payline who would emerge as Lost His Beans’s only serious challenger in the final run home.
Lost His Beans was back to fourth but still only two lengths back after swinging wider on straightening and he now had Payline in tow.
Travelling well within himself, Lost His Beans ... seemingly effortlessly ... made up ground quickly in the first half of the straight, hitting the front with 200m left to run with Ryan Maloney only riding hands and heels up until that stage.
Coming through the 200m mark Payline switched out around the heels of Lost His Beans and started to close ground on the Vandyke trainer, slowly at first and then when more momentum. By the 100m mark there was only three-quarters-of a length between these two runners with Payline threatening to run right past Lost His Beans, but Maloney managed to coax that vital bit extra out of Lost His Beans, who kicked on the line to score by 0.20 lengths.
But wait ... there’s more.
The result was not done and dusted yet as the connections of Payline fired in a protest.
From the official Stewards Report:
‘Prior to the declaration of correct weight, a protest was lodged by C. Munce the trainer of 2nd placed Payline (Apprentice T. Fenlon) against 1st place Lost His Beans (R. Maloney), alleging interference over the final 300m.
‘After considering the evidence from connections of both runners and viewing the official race footage, Stewards established that Lost His Beans shifted out under pressure approaching the 200m. Stewards were satisfied that at this point Lost His Beans had no influence on Payline, as Payline had not yet established clear running outside Lost His Beans.
‘Stewards were satisfied that over the final 100m, Lost His Beans did shift out under pressure and Payline which had now established clear running to the outside was obliged to shift out with Lost His Beans, however apprentice T. Fenlon was not obliged to stop riding and stewards were satisfied that the interference suffered was not sufficient to overturn the Long Head margin and therefore dismissed the objection.’
And that ... was that!
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The David Vandyke stable rounded off the weekend with Deep Tempest winning the last race on the card at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, November 26 ... a Class 3 Handicap over 1400m.
This was a good training feat by Vandyke as the son of Ocean Park was second-up after no less than a fourteen-and-a-half month break away from racing action.
The lightly raced five-year-old, who was scoring his third win from only seven career starts, had resumed after that break with an unplaced run over 1200m in a BM68 contest in town at Doomben on November 11, and here, two weeks later and fitter for that run, Deep Tempest was stepped up to the 1400m trip.
The victory was achieved ... but it was very hard earned.
Starting as a $4.40 second favourite, Jimmy Orman had Deep Tempest quickly into stride and the Vandyke trained runner led the field down the back stretch, doing it easily enough, but at the same time establishing a tempo which strung the field out behind him, with the exception of Arts Object ($5) who tracked Deep Tempest, sitting just three-quarters-of-a-length back to the outside of the leader.
These two leaders held their positions all though the sweep to the home turn and on straightening, where Orman, alert to the threat Arts Object could pose in the run home, was quick to ask Deep Tempest for more as he tried to get his mount to steal a winning advantage early in the home straight.
And the plan worked.
For a moment there Arts Object was left flat-footed ... only for a moment, but that was enough for Deep Impact to increase his leading margin from three-quarters-of-a-length to two lengths, an important break in the context of how the race would unfold over the final 330m.
As Orman continued to push Deep Tempest out, Arts Object got down to work himself and gradually started to cut the deficit to Deep Tempest which was down to a length ... and closing ... coming through the 100m mark.
And now there was also a new threat on the block.
Ultimate Outcome (the $4 favourite), who was all of six to seven lengths off the speed turning for home, had settled to his task in the first half of the home straight and was now rattling down the centre of the track with meaning, closing ground rapidly on the two leaders with every stride over the final 100m.
In the end though, Orman’s tactical ride proved to be inch perfect as Deep Tempest did enough to peg back the persistent Arts Object by a nose with the flying Ultimate Outcome very close up behind that in a great three way go at the line.
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