RACING READ
BACK WITH A VENGEANCE BY TREVOR MARSHALLSEA
Alligator Blood was considered unlikely to return to racing after an injury in late 2020, but with loving owners and a dedicated healthcare team, he was not only nursed back to health, but also back to his winning best. Alligator Blood was nearly retired. Finished with racing. Yesterday’s horse. Through his first 15 months of racing, he’d been a breathtaking young star, with 10 wins from 12 starts, starting in home state Queensland and culminating in his Group 1 breakthrough in Flemington’s 2020 Australian Guineas. But from late 2020 through to the first few months of 2022, the son of All Too Hard was written off as a spent force. However, thanks to formidable forces behind the scenes – chiefly his faithful owners and a highly skilled veterinary surgeon – some of the gelding’s finest days were still ahead. Alligator Blood – it’s a term from the USA’s deep south applied to resilient, ice-cold poker players – thrilled Melbourne crowds with three more Group 1s, including the Underwood Stakes, Flemington’s Kennedy Champions Mile and a last start victory in the Futurity Stakes at Sandown, mixing it with a rare crop of weight-for-age talent. It has capped a stunning comeback, a testament to what’s possible with dedicated care and the latest in veterinary science.
Tim Clark steered Alligator Blood to victory in the 2022 Kennedy Champions Mile, leading all of the way. (Morgan Hancock/Racing Photos)
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