THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: ALLIGATOR BLOOD AND HIS MOUTH-WATERING PROSPECTS FOR 2020

By Graham Potter | Sunday, January 5, 2020

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

If you want to see what a real racehorse looks like, do yourself a favour and go the track when Alligator Blood is running.

Trained at the Sunshine Coast by David Vandyke, Alligator Blood oozes power and when his muscles ripple when he is asked to extend in the home straight there is a menace in his motion which has cowed his opposition into defeat in all but one of his eight starts.

Even in his own one defeat, which came by the proverbial lip at the highest level in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas, Alligator Blood’s reputation continued to rocket. It was a superb performance in which he had the race won in all but the very last half stride.

Not surprisingly, there have been offers aplenty coming in to purchase the horse … big offers.The theory might be that everything has its price but so far Alligator Blood’s connections have passed on all of the offers … settling down, at this stage at least, to look forward what Alligator Blood can bring to 2020.

And why not!

The $55 000 purchase, who has already amassed $939 250 in stake earnings, will kick off his 2020 campaign in the Magic Millions Three-Year-Old Guineas on Saturday. First prize there is over $1.1 million.

Capturing that would not only catapult Alligator Blood’s earnings past the $3 million mark, in only nine starts, but would also ensure that his value will continue to climb, particular at this young stage of his career.

And if you think that’s a fair target, Alligator Blood’s options beyond that are simply quite mouth-watering.

The $1 Australian Guineas takes place on 29 February at Flemington. The $5 million All Star Mile comes around on 14 March. The catch here is that the All Star Mile is a race where the makeup of the final field is determined by votes from racing fans … but Alligator Blood’s ever growing band of supporters hopefully will have this one covered … and then, further down the line, on 31 October, there is the $7.5 million Golden Eagle.

Talk about something to look forward to!

Of course, there are never any guarantees in racing … about even getting to a particular race never mind winning it. Absolutely everything in racing is a gamble.

Right now, though, if you were betting on the throw of the dice, there is no question whose corner you would want to be in.

All staying well, 2020 could be quite a ride.

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