Want an adrenaline rush of the worst kind? Train racehorses. Just ask David Vandyke for the Warwick Farm trainer had one of those moments on Tuesday morning.
Vandyke’s Queensland Oaks shortie Arabian Gold, which is owned by the Might And Power man Nick Moraitis, had the trainer gasping.
“I’m safe guarding this filly, I can see her now,” Vandyke said some 24 hours before Saturday’s Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm.
“It was the sought of thing that a trainer dreads.”
Arabian Gold was set to walk onto Doomben racecourse on Tuesday morning for that final, crucial, gallop when fear gripped Vandyke.
Moraitis’s home bred twisted a shoe and Vandyke knew it was either going to be good or bad and decisions had to be made immediately.
“The repercussions for such an incident can be preparation ending,” Vandyke said.
“Fortunately the nails didn’t pierce the side of the foot, subsequently there was no problem, we got out of it well.”
Due to Vandyke’s dedication to detail, which is continually honed by like minded trainers who are always willing to learn.
“We kept her as still as possible, the shoe had twisted around,” Vandyke said.
“There is nothing worse than a horse moving around when a plate has shifted. I got some farrier’s gear and took the shoe off myself.
“Then I bandaged the foot.”
Then Vandyke had to make that decision. The one trainer’s dread.
“The gallop was imperative coming into Saturday,” Vandyke said.
“The option was still there to gallop her on Wednesday but it wasn’t a good option.
“A lot of what we do as trainers is based on experience, if I hadn’t been down this path with a horse before I wouldn’t have been composed, I would have been in a more complex state.”
Instinct told Vandyke Arabian Gold wasn’t lame.
“The bandage didn’t permit any foreign matter getting up there, into the hoof where it could have caused an abcess,” Vandyke said.
The $2.50 favourite for the final all girls classic for the season was sent out to gallop.
“She worked on her own and wanted to do it,” Vandyke said.
“She had a fair blow, she needed the gallop and she has done OK since, I’m happy with her.
“There is pressure, I wouldn’t feel it if she was a seven or eight to one chance but she is a short priced favourite in a group 1 and for me that is foreign territory.
“It creates pressure.”
That’s why Vandyke has kept a round-the-clock vigil on the three-year-old.
“There is a degree of pressure to succeed, the expectations of the public,” Vandyke said.
“Experience has shown me if she doesn’t run a good race I’ll be pretty shattered and I’ve got to then answer all the questions, you can’t hide in the corner.”
Racing Queensland stewards and its veterinarians have been kept abreast and an eye on Arabian Gold since the incident.
“They were here half an hour ago and they are happy,” Vandyke said.
As for Moraitis, well Vandkye and the owner are on a roll. As the trainer pointed out the five horses he has in work for the owner have won one or more races at their past two starts.
“He is good,” Vandyke said.
“He knows the industry which is a big advantage for me. To have someone like him who knows the ups and downs associated with training a racehorse is terrific.”
To think it could have been a whole lot worse. Favourite backers need not be concerned. Vandyke has done everything possible to ensure Arabian Gold is ready.
By Craig Young
