Can Alligator Blood Become the First Group 1 Winner for All Too Hard?

Alligator Blood will be given his chance to emulate his sire All Too Hard in winning the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas after keeping his record at a perfect five for five in Sunday's Group III Ladbrokes Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m).

Given a positive ride by Ryan Moloney, Alligator Blood tracked the leader Roccabascerana before taking over at the 300m and stayed on strongly to defeat the favourite Dalasan (Dalakhani) by with the $2.3 million Fastnet Rock colt back in third ahead of Roccabascerana (Fighting Sun) in fourth. (image Darryl Sherer)

Dalasan received a cosy run but he seems to take a while to warm up and he was doing his best work in the final 100 metres.

Alligator Blood's trainer David Vandyke said before the race that he could not have the son of All Too Hard any fitter although it was hard to line up the colt's form with all his previous four wins coming in Queensland with three on his home track at the Sunshine Coast and one at Doomben.

"It's surreal really. He's jumped each hurdle we have put in front of him and he's kept improving," Vandyke said.

"Like a lot of good horses when they get a bit older and get a bit seasoned they lift to another level. He was against the big boys today and it was just lovely to see him up there on pace and wanting to do it.

"Ryan just rated him well and he is just a bloody beauty.

"He should get a mile easily, so we are all very excited."

A $55,000 Magic Millions purchase by the Ezybonds No 1 Syndicate from the draft of Gerry Harvey's Baramul Stud, Alligator Blood takes his earnings to $289,250 from his five wins.

He is the best of two winners from three to race out of the unraced Encosta de Lago mare Lake Superior who is a half-sister to Listed ATC Christmas Cup winner Cantonese and the stakes-placegetters Chateau Margaux and Monteux.

Lake Superior is a daughter of the Group 1 VRC Oaks and Group 1 SAJC Australasian Oaks runner-up Kylikwong (Red Ransom) who is a sister to Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy and the dual Listed stakes-winner Red Element.

Sadly, Lake Superior died in September 2017 and Alligator Blood is her final foal.

Alligator Blood becomes the tenth stakes-winner for Vinery Stud's All Too Hard who won the Caulfield Guineas in 2009 at the expense of his old nemesis Pierro however unlike Pierro, All Too Hard is searching for his first Group 1 winner.