Yankee Rose hasn't raced since her VRC Oaks run last year
Trainer David Vandyke could not be happier ahead of the return to racing of dual Group One winner Yankee Rose.
The four-year-old hasn’t raced since finishing 14th as favourite in the VRC Oaks at Flemington in November after which she had surgery to remove bone chips.
She is scheduled to run in the Group One Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on September 2.
A trial at Cranbourne on Tuesday has Vandyke convinced the mare is ready to run a big race.
“I wish the race was tomorrow,” Vandyke told RSN927.
“She’s in really good shape and as we know a lot can go wrong with this mare.
“If she turns up in the shape she is now and has that same will to win as she did last year, I’m sure she’ll figure prominently.”
Yankee Rose arrived at Mick Kent’s Cranbourne stable last week from the Sunshine Coast and was ridden in the trial by Dean Yendall who has just returned from a shoulder injury suffered in a fall early last month.
Yendall partnered Yankee Rose to win the Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick last year before she finished third to Winx and Hartnell in the Cox Plate.
He was also aboard in her unplaced showing at Flemington.
Vandyke said it was important to get Yendall’s feedback.
“He said she felt bigger and stronger which was good to hear,” Vandyke said.
“She’s been back in work over six months and I’ve seen that much of her that I can’t give an honest comparison to last year.”
Vandyke has Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate aspirations for the mare but is keeping an open mind at this stage.
“We’ll be taking it one race at a time,” he said.
