XPRESSO MAKES A WINNING START IN QUEENSLAND
By Graham Potter | Monday, April 1, 2024
This script never gets old for the David Vandyke stable.
A new horse comes into the Vandyke yard from down south. Vandyke primes it with a couple of trials. He wins the second trial. Vandyke pronounces him ready to race. He races. He wins.
Sure, it is not quite that simple, but it is a recurring theme, and the five-year-old gelding Xpresso added his name to that particular Vandyke honour roll when he won first time out for Vandyke when taking out a Class 4 Handicap over 1100m at Ipswich on April 1.
In fairness, Xpresso did bring some reasonable form with him. His last two starts (both in January) had been in Midway Handicaps in Sydney, and he was good enough to secure a runner-up finish in one of those races.
At Ipswich, the betting ($1.55) indicated the race was his for the taking.
Xpresso, who was drawn out in barrier seven in a nine-horse field, landed in the leading line and Jimmy Orman continued to push his mount forward before settling in a prominent third place, just a length-and-a-half to two lengths behind the leader.
Orman let Xpresso maintain that perfect trail until the approach to the home turn where he switched the Vandyke trained runner out two wide ensuring he had a clear run to the line.
Once in a position to strike, Orman was not going to hang around and he immediately gave Xpresso more rein, at which stage the son of Xtravagant opened up a gap on the chasing runners, which was to prove a winning move.
Oakfield Duke ($7.50) did emerge out of the pack and, with Xpresso starting to feel the pinch late, the grey did close on Xpresso with every stride over the concluding 100m, but it was always clear that his effort was never going to be quite enough to reel in Xpresso who ultimately saluted with a 0.30 length margin to spare.
Xpresso had won three out of eighteen starts for his pervious trainer Nathan Doyle.
Now win number four was in the bank with his prize-money earnings moving up to $196 975.
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