Clive Robinson
All eyes will be on Vanderbilt come Thursday 25 August when this four-year-old half-brother to Summer Pudding makes 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 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, 21.5-lengths behind Jack And Ginger.
Peter, the brilliantly cunning 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 on Thursday 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.
And then there’s Duke Of Rain.
Lucky Houdalakis’ charge finished just 1.8-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 Whispers Of War a staggering 11,5kg better off.
Peter has secured the services of jockey Rachel Venniker for the contest, and her 1,5kg allowance will definitely help.
