Johannes Vermeer
Sunday’s RMB2 million (£200,000) G1 Racing Post Trophy (1600m) at Doncaster in Great Britain may become an important pointer to the 2016 ambitions of Johannes Vermeer. The strapping colt, co-owned and co-bred by the China Horse Club, is already a stakes winner and is bidding to become a G1 winner before his juvenile season comes to a close. That he is doing so in a race with a rich history in singling out ‘classic prospects’ is an indication of the esteem in which he is held.
Since 2004 the G1 Racing Post Trophy has by won four times by subsequent Epsom Derby winners including twice by Johannes Vermeer’s trainer Aidan O’Brien. The juvenile contest is therefore a key marker for the year ahead and is likely to go some way to defining the direction the colt takes as a three-year-old.
“The Racing Post Trophy is never an easy race to win but Aidan knows what it takes to win an event of this stature, his record is testament to that,” said Michael Wallace, Head of International Racing and Breeding for the China Horse Club.
“Johannes Vermeer has shown ability in his short career to date and is deserving of this opportunity. It will be exciting to see how he measures up in a race that always attracts a quality field of runners.”
The G1 Racing Post Trophy will be the third graded stakes race contested by Johannes Vermeer in his short career to date and his second at G1 level. The regally bred son of champion sire Galileo broken his maiden at his second career start before moving up to stakes company and posting a comfortable win at in the G3 Willis Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown in Dublin, Ireland. That win was enough to warrant being tested in better company, however a muddling tempo in the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1600m) in Paris earlier this month proved unsuitable.
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