Alligator Blood is very unlikely to line up in Melbourne and contest the Cox Plate this spring, with trainer David Vandyke opting to target the Australian Guineas winner at Sydney feature races.
Alligator Blood has resumed work for his spring campaign and trialed at the Sunshine Coast on the weekend, and looks set to return to the track in Brisbane next month before his Sydney assault.
David Vandyke confirmed that even though Alligator Blood was nominated for the Cox Plate, the target will be the $7 million Golden Eagle at Rosehill.
“I want to give him a relatively light spring carnival and the two races in Sydney, the Silver Eagle and the Golden Eagle are looking the most likely at this stage,” Vandyke said.
“There is a lot of uncertainty and logistically it could be quite difficult to travel to Melbourne, it is a lot harder than getting a horse to Sydney from Queensland, you’ve got to worry about staff and their movements too.
“We will know more after his first run in Brisbane but at this stage I would say Sydney is the most likely path.”
Both the Cox Plate route in Melbourne and the Golden Eagle route in Sydney offer about the same amount in prizemoney in Alligator Blood’s situation, with The Golden Eagle worth $4.1 million for first place, and The Cox Plate paying $3 million for the winner, plus a $1 million bonus for this year’s Australian Guineas win.
Vandyke didn’t rule out a run in The Everest if a slot holder contacted him, but said there hasn’t been any such interest yet.
“We would be up to the challenge if someone wants to partner with us, but we haven’t had any real inquiries about gaining a slot,” he said.
Watch Alligator Blood’s Australian Guineas win here:
ALLIGATOR BLOOD WINS THE AUSTRALIAN GUINEAS. pic.twitter.com/eisviHpEW1
— 7HorseRacing ? (@7horseracing) February 29, 2020
