Inglis Sires’ winner Yankee Rose has been installed the short priced favourite for the Group 1 $500,000 Moet & Chandon Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday.
Yankee Rose has been installed the short priced favourite for the Champagne Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
In early markets at Ladbrokes.com.au, Yankee Rose heads the betting at$1.35, well ahead of her nearest rivals Prized Icon, Divine Prophet and Obscura at $8.
Trainer David Vandyke is tipping Yankee Rose will be improved stepping up the 1600m of the Champagne Stakes after making an one act affair of the Group 1 $1m Inglis Sires’ (1400m) at Randwick on the first day of ‘The Championships’ on April 2.
Winning jockey Zac Purton had no problems at all in letting Yankee Rose chime in half way down the straight to go on and score a two and a half lengths win over the John O’Shea trained Telperion with Faraway Town a further two lengths away in third spot.
“Every indication is that she’ll be improved over the mile,” Vandyke told AAP.
“Certainly I think that third-up will be her at her best.”
Yankee Rose was purchased for $10,000 at the 2015 Inglis Classic Yearling Summer Book and was an instinct success on the race track with a first up win in an 1100m two year old plate at Rosehill last October followed by another win in the $150,000 Golden Gift (1100m) at Rosehill three weeks later.
Vandyke then put her out for a break before preparing her for a first up tilt at the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 19.
The All American filly ran a mighty race to produce a late charge to finish second, half a length behind the Peter and Paul Snowden trained Capitalist.
Yankee Rose was then sent out as the $3.80 favourite for the Inglis Sires’ and didn’t let her large group of owners and her followers down with an emphatic win that took her prizemoney earnings to just over $1.5 million.
Vandyke is due to relocate his training establishment from Warwick Farm in Sydney to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland in August and said that the large owner’s group have agree to leave Yankee Rose in his care.
“It’s a dream to get a horse like her,” Vandyke said.
“For the owners to stick with me during my move is fantastic and I can’t thank them enough.”
Saturday’s result in the Champagne Stakes will give Vandyke a better idea if he pushes on with a Brisbane Winter Carnival campaign or puts her away before targeting the Spring Carnival.
“We’ll pretty much let her tell us what the next step will be,” Vandyke said.
Early market order for the Champagne Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $1.35 Yankee Rose, $8 Prized Icon, Divine Prophet, Obscura, $13 Chimboraa, Faraway Town, $15 Sicario, $17 Jaws Off Steel, $26 Crown Him, $34 Pop, $81 North Sky.
