Irish raider Johannes Vermeer is set to give the Caulfield Cup a serious shake given his record shows his two biggest career wins have come on the quick back-up.
Photo: Darryl Sherer
The son of Galileo was a massive firmer in Caulfield Cup betting after his slashing Australian debut running second in the Group I Ladbrokes Stakes at Caulfield and he has continued to firm into $7.
Owner Lloyd Williams indicated he plans to run the progressive stayer in next Saturday's $3million 2400m showpiece with Ben Melham to take over the ride from Katelyn Mallyon.
While some punters may question the back-up plan into the Cup, trainer Aidan O'Brien has no such reservations.
The master trainer who is one shy of Bobby Frankel's record of 25 Group I wins in a year can point to Johannes Vermeer's superb record on the back-up.
The Caulfield Cup contender has twice raced on the back-up in his 13-start career and they produced his two biggest wins.
As a juvenile in 2015, he showed he was a star of the future when he took out the Group I Criterium International in France only eight days after racing at Doncaster.
Earlier this year he took out the Group III International Stakes in Ireland, again on a relatively quick back-up only 11 days after his previous race.
Johannes Vermeer's eye-catching second behind Gailo Chop in the Ladbrokes Stakes hooked many punters from a Caulfield Cup perspective and his back-up record also indicates he will be a serious contender.
