Jack Milner
Vanderbilt will be the focus of attention on Thursday when this four-year-old half-brother to Summer Pudding lines up in Race 5, a MR 90 Handicap on the Turffontein Inside track, making his fifth appearance under the tutorship of champion trainer Paul Peter.
When Vanderbilt joined Peter’s yard as a maiden after a short stint first in Cape Town and then in Gqeberha, he had a merit rating of just 65 after six runs.
In both his first two attempts in Cape Town and his first run at Fairview, he was reported to have a breathing problem, and was subsequently fitted with a tongue-tie. That, however, did not improve his performance.
No surprise then that, when he reached Peter’s stable, he was regarded as a bit of a no-hoper, despite attracting decent money mainly due to his pedigree, even going off at 18-10 in his last run at Fairview when finishing stone last in a 12-strong field, 21.50-lengths behind Jack And Ginger.
Peter, the brilliantly wily trainer he has proven to be, ripped off the tongue-tie, fitted blinkers, and instructed jockey Warren Kennedy to let Vanderbilt loose. The rest, as they say, is history.
Vanderbilt has scored four consecutive victories – all pillar to post efforts – with blinkers fitted.
Those four victories have seen his merit rating climb to 89, but the way he has performed for Peter suggests there is still a lot more to come.
Vanderbilt is a horse very close to Peter’s heart. It was after all his half-sister, Summer Pudding, which truly placed Peter in the limelight, giving him his first ever Grade 1 win in the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic before going on to claim the Triple Tiara, as well as the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 and the Grade 1 WSB Summer Cup.
Stepping up to Class B, victory will undoubtedly put Vanderbilt in line for Listed or even Graded contests.
But he does face a couple of formidable foes, most notably the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Leopold, and Sir Michael from Candice Dawson’s outfit. Both these runners have contested graded races and are vastly more experienced.
Sir Michael probably had a bookmakers’ dinner in his honour after the number of time he went off a strong favourite only to let the side down.
However, Dawson seems to have found the winning formula and six-year-old Kingsbarns gelding ran out a convincing winner in his first run for the yard.
And then there’s Duke Of Rain.
Lucky Houdalakis’ charge finished just 1.80-lengths behind Vanderbilt when they met in June. His solitary run since then, when second to Whispers Of War, has resulted in a merit rating increase of just two points.
So, this time round, they meet with Duke Of Rain a staggering 11.5kg better off and that is even with the 1.5kg allowance jockey Rachel Venniker is able to claim on Vanderbilt.
The question is: has Peter’s charge still got room for further improvement or has the handicapper caught up with him?
The fact this race is on the Inside track will definitely help as the shorter run-in will work in his favour.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 4 Miss Soho, 3 Regina Bellissima, 5 Up The Irish, 9 Montana Nymph
Race 2: 3 Existentialist, 5 Woodland Ridge, 4 Tre Amici, 1 Greenlightforgo
Race 3: 6 Tulip Tree, 1 I'm In Love, 7 Raratonga Rose, 2 Graphene Aerogel
Race 4: 5 Blonde Act, 2 Dawn Of A New Era, 1 Don't Touch Me, 3 Humble Tune
Race 5: 4 Vanderbilt, 1 Sir Michael, 8 Duke Of Rain, 2 Barneys Pride
Race 6: 7 Far Away Winter, 3 Moonshiningthrough, 1 It's About Time, 6 Miss Daisy
Race 7: 8 Kiss Me Captain, 4 No Time Is Taken, 2 Golden Aspen, 1 On Cue
Race 8: 6 Ignatius, 1 Big Five, 2 Allaroundtheworld, 3 Gimme Royalty
BEST BET
Race 8 No 6 Ignatius
VALUE BET
Race 4 No 5 Blonde Act
BEST SWINGER
Race 2 3x5
BIPOT
R216
Leg 1: 3, 4, 5
Leg 2: 3, 5
Leg 3: 1, 6
Leg 4: 1, 2, 5
Leg 5: 1, 4, 8
Leg 6: 3, 7
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R108
Leg 1: 3
Leg 2: 1, 6
Leg 3: 1, 2, 5
Leg 4: 1, 4, 8
Leg 5: 3, 7
Leg 6: 2, 4, 8
Leg 7: 6
PICK 6
R1080
Leg 1: 1, 6, 7
Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 5
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Leg 4: 1, 3, 7
Leg 5: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Leg 6: 6
JACKPOT 1
R360
Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 5
Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Leg 4: 1, 3, 7
Leg 5: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
JACKPOT 2
R90
Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8
Leg 2: 1, 3, 7
Leg 3: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Leg 4: 6