The Vanderbilt Handicap – Grade I
6 Furlongs Dirt Stake Purse $350.000 Open 3 Year Olds And Up.

1st Oversell It, trained by Mb Stables
The only surprising thing about this winner is that his last two races were at
LAD and RUI. If ever there was a case of sandbagging a grade one winner coming off
two wins at low and fair level after a grade three third is it. Having said that it
can sometimes be hard for a horse to find a win these days and those low level races
are often as hard to win as a grade one. So enough about how he got here lets look at
the win. Its tough for four year olds at the moment so this win shouldnt be underestimated
especially as he went comfortably under 1.09 to do it and earned a 103 speed figure in the
process. Settling just worse than midfield but close up he was always travelling well and
managed to gamely battle past his on speed stablemate winning by a neck. He was tested as a
three year old and did very well considering and after a relatively easy season he now looks
like he is coming to his best at the right time. Hopefully we will see him going up against
the best sprinters at weight for age rather than back at a fair track and if we do i reckon
he could turn out to be a decent BC sprint contender.

2nd Giada, trained by Mb Stables
Bought from D J C Racing Stables when getting beaten in cheap overnights over this very trip
he has managed to turn that form around in just nine days and very nearly became a grade one
winner. With no change in adds and no change in running style this was either another example of
the champion trainers golden touch or an example of huge almost overnight improvement. Only his
next race will really tell us the answer to that. Getting on the pace from the off he battled
very well and ran the race of his life to make it a memorable one two for the outstanding trainer.

3rd Sqawilther, trained by Australia Wide
There was always the question as to whether this one was going to be outpaced early on and in the
end that seemed to be the case. Running on well he just couldnt quicken up over this trip and got
beaten a length. I must admit when you look at the form it is hard to see how this one got beat but
the work out times were telling the story as usual and this son of Pink Panther may end up being a
better miler.

4th Real Steal, trained by Scarletandgreystable
Got up onto the pace after a sluggish start and was right in it to the end. Ending up fourth but
giving weight away was a very good performance and i would expect this four year old to continue
his good season with a few more big runs in non handicap company.

SUMMARY
A great result for Mb Stables and for the four year olds. Helped by the absence of three year olds
it will be hard to weigh up this form when any of the top four meet the younger generation.

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES