Seven days after finishing second to the unstoppable Mr Brightside in the Makybe Diva Stakes, courageous All Too Hard gelding Alligator Blood scored an emotional win under Damien Oliver in the $750,000 Group 1 Live Life Foundation Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield.
Alligator Blood won that a touch cheekily (image Grant Courtney)
In defending the title he won last year, defeating Mo'unga and Zaaki, Alligator Blood hit the front at the 300m and was unrelating to defeat Tuvalu (Kermadec) by a neck with Duais (Shamus Award) a half-neck back in third.
With his sixth Group 1 victory, the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained gelding advances his record to 14 wins, five seconds and a third from 32 starts with earnings of $6,875,925.
Gai Waterhouse paid special tribute to Damien Oliver.
“He’s not going to go out without a bang. He’ll be like Frankie Dettori. It was a fabulous win today,” the exuberant Waterhouse said.
“He got into a bit of a scrimmage in the first two furlongs, got shuffled back to fifth, had to come three wide and then he got into that lovely rhythm that he’s got, a great stride. He was fabulous.
“I think going up in distance there was less pressure on, and he could get into that rhythm that he is very good at. It’s great that there are so many people here to see Alligator Blood and it’s great that he could deliver. It’s so exciting for everyone.
“I will speak to Adrian. We may go to the Turnbull, but we’ll wait and see. Today we backed him up as it gave us a few more options, but that is exactly where we want to be, Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day.”
“You never know if that opportunity is going to come. It was unfortunate Tim’s accident and the fall, but he is on the road to recovery now and I was able to pick up this horse and I’m happy to just fill in for him while he’s making his way back.
“She (Gai) was adamant she wanted him to lead. I just felt, on his back today, he was a bit quieter on the seven day back-up and he wasn’t as sharp from the gates today. There were a few others a bit quicker and they crossed him pretty sharply. I had to wait and hold my nerve a little bit until they settled and then I was able to go upside the lead.
Emotional win for connections (image Grant Courtney)
“It was a great effort from a horse that is tough and resilient over a long period of time. He’s had some injuries to overcome and he showed a lot of fight when the leader took a fair bit of sprint out of them. We had to take it up a fair way out and he held them off quite strongly.”
Bred by Gerry Harvey, Alligator Blood sold for $55,000 to Allan Endresz's Ezybonds No 1 Syndicate at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
He is the last foal of Lake Superior, an unraced half-sister by Encosta de Lago to stakes-winner Cantonese from the Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy family.
