VANDYKE MAY TAKE A PUNT ON BACCARAT BABY
PROMISING filly Baccarat Baby gained some valuable education as she took the first step towards a possible Melbourne campaign at Caloundra yesterday.
A prohibitive favourite, Baccarat Baby ($1.28) had only three rivals who were quickly reduced to two when Hot Sock missed the start by 10 lengths.
Jockey Jim Byrne, on Le Beau Reynard ($4.20), set a slow pace in the lead but Baccarat Baby was able to wear him down in the final 100m to score by a half length.
Baccarat Baby is yet another of several quality three-year-olds produced from trainer David Vandyke’s Caloundra stable in recent months.
Heading the list is promising Asharani who Vandyke hopes to get into the Group 1 Thousand Guineas at Caulfield but he is toying with Baccarat Baby joining her in Melbourne.
“There is a 1400m race at Caloundra in a fortnight which is metropolitan class,” Vandyke said.
“If she measured up there, she would press on to a 1600m race at Doomben and again if she measures up she might go to Melbourne.”
Vandyke praised jockey Michael Hellyer for not panicking when Byrne slowed the tempo.
“He did the right thing and resisted the temptation to go to the lead,” he said.
“We are trying to teach Baccarat Baby to settle and that was good education.”
Premier jockey Jeff Lloyd is hurtling towards retirement but showed he could still educate his rivals on how to ride in small fields.
Caloundra can be difficult to ride when numbers are light on but Lloyd was able to weave through from last and win on The Zoff ($8).
Lloyd had less trouble when he won on Totally Charmed and Not Surprising.
Totally Charmed was heavily backed into $1.70 on the strength of an unlucky second at Doomben at his previous start.
Gold Coast trainer Debbie Newham was in the winners’ circle when Sofie’s Gold Class ($5) took out the Maiden Handicap (1400m) with Ryan Plumb aboard.
Sofie’s Gold Class, a fiveyear-old mare, was having just her second start.