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Fresh is best for Eminent

16 February 2019

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By Isaac Murphy

Punters last saw Eminent at the track almost eight months when the David Vandyke trained gelding won well over the 1710m.

Vandyke said the four-year-old gelding had come on in leaps and bounds since that run, but the one constant is winning as he burst on the scene just in time to win the Class 6 Plate over 1350m.

Vandyke said the horse had always shown talent, but his best was yet to come.

“He certainly showed his class today, you sometimes forget he only got beaten a few lengths in the Group One JJ Atkins as a two-year-old,” Vandyke said.

“We haven’t seen the best of this guy yet, he’s getting better by the day but still has plenty left to accomplish.”

Vandyke said he could see the gelding was travelling sweetly and apart from a few nervous moments was rapt with Ryan Maloney’s ride.

“I was cursing Ryan there at about the 500 because he had a lap full of horse and I thought get to the outside, but that’s why I’m not a rider he waited for the gap and took it,” he said.

The trainer said he was most pleased to see the gelding doing his best work late and has grand plans for him come the Winter Carnival.

“It was really good to see him hit the line like that at the 1350 first up, we’ve seen what he can do over the 1710 at Ipswich, so I can’t wait to get him up over the mile,” he said.

“Because he races so well fresh I’ll keep it that way and we might see him in a listed or even a Group Three over a mile or 2000, during the carnival.”