Dale Sutton had 100,000 good reasons to send Vitex to Queensland and is hopeful the Victorian mare can follow a proven formula to win the Avant Garde Handicap at Eagle Farm.Vitex has settled in well at Sutton's new Gold Coast stable ahead of her assignment in Saturday's 1600-metre fillies and mares event which carries prizemoney of $100,000.The five-year-old daughter of Exceed And Excel finished sixth to Zantelagh at her last appearance over 1800 metres at Caulfield last month.Sutton recently bo
Dale Sutton had 100,000 good reasons to send Vitex to Queensland and is hopeful the Victorian mare can follow a proven formula to win the Avant Garde Handicap at Eagle Farm.
Vitex has settled in well at Sutton's new Gold Coast stable ahead of her assignment in Saturday's 1600-metre fillies and mares event which carries prizemoney of $100,000.
The five-year-old daughter of Exceed And Excel finished sixth to Zantelagh at her last appearance over 1800 metres at Caulfield last month.
Sutton recently bought Patinack Farm's Bundall stable adjacent to the Gold Coast track with the proceeds of his share from the sale of Wadham Park in the Gold Coast hinterland which Nathan Tinkler purchased for an undisclosed sum.
"Patinack Farm bought Wadham Park from Peter Rowsthorn and myself and with the proceeds of the sale I bought Patinack Farm's stables," Sutton said.
"I've only got eight horses there but I intend to build it up more and have a small permanent team there in the future.
"But I'll still be based at Tylden where I've got around 50 horses in work."
Sutton said he had his best year as a trainer at Tylden, which is near Kyneton in Victoria, with 63 winners last season including three black-type victories.
Former Adelaide jockey Mark Folley was recently appointed Sutton's Gold Coast foreman.
Sutton has taken a leaf out of the Patinack Farm handbook of shuttling horses from Sydney to Queensland to campaign before returning.
"It's a formula Nathan Tinkler does successfully and I did it with Supreme De Lago when I sent him up there," Sutton said.
"It's an experiment but if it keeps paying off I'll send more horses up and bring them back to Tylden."
Supreme De Lago won at Seymour last November and then was placed three times including twice at Moonee Valley before winning at Doomben in July and finishing among the placings in three of his other four Queensland starts.
Sutton believes Vitex's Melbourne form warranted a trip north.
"She always puts in a good race and it will be interesting to see how she handles racing the other direction," he said.
"She hasn't been up there long and she's only ever done slow work the clockwise direction."
Vitex has only won twice in her 20-start career but Sutton has no plans to retire her to the breeding barn.
"She's not going to stud this season and she'll race on for another year," he said.
"She hasn't been winning but her form is consistent.
"There were 100,000 reasons I sent her up there and she should be competitive."