Unbeaten Vandeek produces a ‘beast of a performance’ with brilliant win in the Middle Park at Newmarket
JAMES DOYLE must have got whiplash when he put pedal to the metal on his speedy Van.
In the end, it was a steering job for the top jock as Vandeek hit top gear in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.
PAVandeek was a very impressive winner of the Middle Park at Newmarket[/caption]
This was arguably the two-year-old performance of the season and the future looks incredibly bright for Simon and Ed Crisford’s big colt.
Because not only is he proving too quick for his fellow speedsters, but he looks like he will get further than six furlongs, too.
In fact, the only worry during the race was whether he’d get a gap – it wouldn’t be the first time a Van was right up backsides trying to overtake.
But as soon as Doyle angled him into the clear he was away and gone, making smart horses like River Tiber and Task Force look one-paced.
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The question now is whether he will stick to this trip, with the Dewhurst Stakes over an extra furlong a tantalising option for his father-son training combo.
If he did return here in a fortnight for that race he would meet Aidan O’Brien’s flying machine City Of Troy – who is already a hot favourite for the 2000 Guineas next May.
Vandeek himself was cut into 8-1 from 14s for the first Classic of the season by Coral, and Crisford senior hasn’t ruled out a potentially monster clash on October 14.
He said: “We will let the horse tell us if he is up for another race, but the Dewhurst is definitely under consideration.
“He is a champion over this distance, he is probably the best two-year-old in Europe if not the world at the moment.
“It’s incredibly special to have a horse as good as him, you never know if they’ll get further but he sees his races out strongly.”
Earlier on the card, Oisin Murphy banked a small Fortuna in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes.
The three-time champion jockey steered Porta Fortuna to a convincing success in the fillies’ Group 1 at Newmarket.
She hadn’t managed to get her head in front since winning the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier in the year.
But the Donnacha O’Brien-trained two-year-old quickened up nicely coming out of the dip to win going away from Pearls And Rubies.
Murphy said: “She is a little star – I was supposed to ride her in the Albany but Frankie got in my way!
“I’m over the moon to win on her today. She is very relaxed and travelled nicely, she’ll go to America now for the Breeders’ Cup.”
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