Alligator Blood band back together to rock the Todman Stakes with two-year-old All Inclusive

David Vandyke and Ryan Maloney share a special Group 1 memory and are hoping to make more with a promising two-year-old who heads to Sydney to take on the big guns on Saturday.

All Inclusive and Ryan Maloney are bound for Saturday’s Todman Stakes at Randwick. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography.

The Alligator Blood band is back together – not that they ever really separated – as a son of a gun heads to Sydney to take on the big two-year-old guns on Saturday.

David Vandyke and Ryan Maloney rode racing’s exhilarating highs in 2020 when they combined at the start of Alligator Blood’s career as the future superstar won the Group 1 Australian Guineas.

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David Vandyke and Ryan Maloney after winning the 2020 Australian Guineas with Alligator Blood. Picture: AAP Image.

Vandyke and Maloney will be heading south on Saturday in search of rich Sydney spoils and perhaps a Group 1 Golden Slipper berth with All Inclusive, an impressive Brisbane winner at his only start.

Vandyke thinks so much of All Inclusive that, before he even had a race start, he said he reminded him of Alligator Blood as a young horse.

All Inclusive shares the same sire (All Too Hard) as Alligator Blood.

Now All Inclusive heads to Sydney to take on the likes of Switzerland, Espionage and Straight Charge in Saturday’s Group 2 Todman Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.

“This is going to give us a real handle on where this horse is at and where we could be headed with him in the future,” Vandyke said.

🤩 ALL INCLUSIVE makes a stunning start to his career with an explosive debut win in the QTIS 2YO Jewel Prelude 🧨

🐊 By the same sire as Alligator Blood, David has a high opinion of this boy and it’s easy to see why after that performance @brisracingclub

Congrats to owners 🥂 pic.twitter.com/wQcQrTRbLw

— Vandyke Racing (@vandykeracing13) February 24, 2024

“Moving forward into his three year old career we will know whether we can aim up for trips south or whether we take him through his grades in Queensland.

“Going into the Todman, he will have improved a lot from what you saw in Brisbane.

“He was running in under pressure in Brisbane but he had never been under pressure before.

“So it was all a bit new to him. The exciting part was that he pinned the ears back and he wanted it.

“You can’t train them to have that real passion and will to win. That’s why it’s so exciting going into these races in Sydney.”

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All Inclusive pinning back the ears to win on debut in Brisbane. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography.

All Inclusive would need to run a place in the Todman to warrant Vandyke pushing onto the Golden Slipper where the gelding is currently rated a $51 chance.

Vandyke would have had his choice of several Sydney jockeys to ride All Inclusive on Saturday but he was more than happy to stick solid with Maloney.

The pair share plenty of happy memories from the start of Alligator Blood journey.

“Ryan and I have a very good association,” Vandyke said.

“We are proven combination at Group 1 level with Alligator Blood.

“I’m very comfortable having Ryan on my horses, whether we are going around at Ipswich or in Sydney or Melbourne in a Group 1.

“What works for us works – and we will just keep doing it that way.”

Originally published as Alligator Blood band back together to rock the Todman Stakes with two-year-old All Inclusive