Trainer David Vandyke has revealed that 2016 Golden Slipper is on the agenda for Yankee Rose after she recorded an impressive victory in the 2015 Golden Gift at Rosehill Gardens this morning.
Yankee Rose produced an impressive turn-of-foot to record a narrow victory in the Golden Gift at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon. Photo by: Steve Hart
Yankee Rose was well-backed in the lead-up to the Golden Gift after she made her racing debut with an upset win in The Viridian Lightbridge Plate (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens on October 31, but she did not look a great chance when she was settled towards the tail of the field in the early stages of the race by jockey Jason Collett.
Good Standing slipped away from his rivals at the top of the straight and he looked like he was going to run away from his rivals and record an upset win, but he tired in the final stages, while Yankee Rose absolutely exploded when asked for an extra effort by Collett to record a most impressive victory.
Vandyke has never been considered a prolific trainer of two-year-olds and his stable is generally made up of older horse, but he was clearly thrilled to have been able to find a precocious type and he said that the All American filly would be set for the Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes (1200m), while he is confident that the juvenile will be even better suited in the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m).
“I’ve only had a handful of two-year-old runners,” Vandyke told the media after the race.
“In fact people have asked if I could train a two-year-old.
“Sometimes good horses make good trainers and she is a good horse.
That gets her into the Slipper and I can’t wait to get there
“I didn’t think she could finish like that over 1100 metres.
“She will go out for six weeks on Monday and we’ll bring her back for the autumn.
“She is still pretty small and what she is doing now, she is doing on raw ability and it was a ten out of ten ride by Jason.”
The Team Snowden-trained duo of Jericho and Julius Caesar were both well backed in the lead-up to the Golden Gift are they trialed well ahead of their racing debuts, but they both produced flat performances.
Vandyke has previously take out the Group 2 Hill Stakes (2000m) with Lamasery and the Group 2 The Roses (2000m) with Arabian Gold, but he is still chasing his first win at the highest level of racing after finishing in the placings with Arabian Gold in the 2014 Queensland Oaks and Lamasery in the 2011 The Metropolitan.
