By Adam Hamilton
Exciting colt Vincent was due that one.
After the heartbreak of the Victoria Derby, the All Stars’ latest gun three-year-old deserved something to go his way and it did when he produced one of the quickest last quarters ever run at Menangle to win the $200,000 Group 1 NSW Derby.
In contrast to the Victoria Derby where he drew inside the back row, copped a burst tyre early and was retired from the race, this time Vincent drew well and got the luck he needed at the right time to gun down star stablemate Ultimate Machete.
He had to run a staggering 25.3sec last quarter to snatch victory after trainer-driver Mark Purdon took a trail on Ultimate Machete in the middle stages then came off his back early in the home straight.
Ultimate Machete found plenty, but Vincent was simply too slick.
Owner Jean Feiss, who picked Vincent out at the Australian Gold sales and named him, said the victory was as much relief as delight.
“We just felt he deserved that one after Victoria,” she said. “It wasn’t so much getting beaten in the Victoria Derby, it was not even getting a crack at winning it after he was so good winning his heat.”
There is a widespread belief Vincent is named after the late, great horseman Vinnie Knight, but Feiss that was only partly true.
“There were a lot of things going through my head when I named him,” Feiss said. “The main things were the fact I really like the song Starry Starry Night (by Don McLean) about Vincent Van Gogh and also that Vincent comes from the latin word vincere, which means to conquer.”
Vincent is the latest in a growing list of stars Feiss and her husband Bill have plucked from yearling sales in NZ and Australia.
“We’ve been buying from the sales for the past 20 years or more and in recent years, we’ve been sending them to Mark to train. The really started when he stayed with us a few years ago,” Feiss said.
“I love going to the sales. I go through the pedigrees of course, but for me it’s really important how they look.
“Messini was the first yearling we bought and sent to Mark and it’s gone from there with others like Chase The Dream, Willow, Mackenzie and now Spanish Armada and Vincent.”
Feiss is looking forward to Vincent chasing the NZ Derby before a possible return to Australia later in the season.
“He’s eligible for the NSW Breeders Challenge and Vicbred so he could be back in a few months, but we’ll leave that to Mark,” she said.
“He would have been over here last season for the Australian Gold, but he pulled-up sore in trackwork the day before he was set to head over and they found a bone chip.
“He had it removed then three months out and it’s proven a godsend because he’s blossomed into such a nice horse and we’re still really sure just how good he could be.”
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
Driving The Future Of Harness Racing
