'We couldn't get him up to go to the races' - sleepy Vandeek bursts into life with dazzling Middle Park performance

Vandeek might take the laid-back approach to life but on the track there is no sharper two-year-old in training and he once again showed his considerable dash with a breathtaking success in the Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes.  

Simon Crisford, who along with his son Ed trains the sturdy son of Havana Grey for KHK Racing, revealed that his biggest task of the day was waking Vandeek from his late-morning slumber, but believes his relaxed outlook is why he is proving himself a champion. 

"His mind is so good, it's so important and makes our life easy," said Crisford snr. "He was flat out asleep today until noon; we couldn't get him up to go to the races! Then he was half asleep in the stalls and you can't keep him awake." 

Having given the Crisfords their first Group 1 success when striking late in the Prix Morny in France in August, Vandeek stirred in the nick of time to hand the Newmarket trainers a first domestic top-level win with a clearcut verdict over runner-up Task Force, and it was undoubtedly a momentous occasion for the winning stable.

"When you come with an unbeaten Group 1 winner into another championship race, you always want to deliver and it was very important that we saw the horse at his best today," added Crisford. "Not many fathers and sons get to do this and it's extra special."

James Doyle was successful aboard Vandeek in the Group 1Credit: Alan Crowhurst

The initial reaction, certainly from winning jockey James Doyle, was that sprinting is very much the winner's game but he does hold an entry in the Dewhurst over 7f back at Newmarket on October 14 and "never say never" was Crisford's reaction to a potential step up in trip. 

"He's one of the best two-year-olds in the world, I'd say, and our job is to do what's best for him," said the joint-trainer. "He's a tall, leggy horse, he stands over a lot of ground, so he could easily go further. I'd never say never but the person who will decide if we come back for the Dewhurst is the horse himself. If he tells us he wants to, then maybe we will."

Vandeek was cut to 6-1 (from 8) for the Dewhurst and 10-1 (from 16) for next year's 2,000 Guineas by Paddy Power, but Doyle felt we were looking at the emergence of a potential champion sprinter. 

"He's a pure ball of speed," said the winning rider. "He didn't jump from the gate that quick but he travelled super strong and the moment the gap opened, he put it to bed quickly. He's an electric horse and he coped with the quicker ground well, which opens up all kinds of options. 

"I think he's a sprinter and he gave me a serious buzz there. Not many horses in a Middle Park go down to the Dip travelling as well as he did. There's a lot to look forward to."

Stepping up in trip is definitely on the agenda for runner-up Task Force, according to connections, while third-placed River Tiber could be bound for the Breeders' Cup.

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