Vandyke hopes Cherish The Day can go to next level
By Glenn Davis
It could be the start of bigger things to come if Cherish The Day completes a hat-trick of wins at Eagle Farm on Wednesday.
Trainer David Vandyke has a good opinion of the four-year-old daughter of Capitalist who steps out for only her 13th start in the Class 3 Plate over 1830 metres.
Seven of her starts were under the training partnership of Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr in Victoria before she headed north to Vandyke’s barns on the Sunshine Coast.
Cherish The Day never raced beyond 1200 metres in Victoria and only claimed a maiden victory at Warrnambool in October last year.
However, since moving to the warmer Queensland climate, Cherish The Day has progressed steadily since finishing fourth in her stable debut over 1000 metres at Eagle Farm in July.
She recorded her first win for Vandyke at her fourth appearance in a 1680-metre Class 1 at Ipswich on August 20.
She then made it back-to-back wins in a 1700-metre Benchmark race on the same track on September 3.
Ryan Maloney has ridden Cherish The Day in her two recent victories but will again be legged up on the Tony Gollan-trained Ready For The Trip after riding him in his three straight wins at Eagle Farm.
Ben Thompson has snapped up the opportunity to partner Cherish The Day.
“Every run for me has been an improvement,” Vandyke said.
“I’m under no illusions this is her biggest test and I’ve got a lot of respect for Tony Gollan’s Ready For The Trip.
“My jockey (Ryan Maloney) has jumped off her to stay with Ready For The Trip so he’s the one to beat.”
Vandyke believes Cherish The Day is a progressive mare but has no major plans set aside.
“She’ll go out for a spell after this as she’s been in work a long time,” he said.
“She’s had eight runs this preparation and only a freshener in between coming from Melbourne to here.
“I like her a lot but I don’t know how far she’ll run.
“She’s very well bred and it’s been a bit of guess work with her from me but I’m hoping she can get to the next level.”
