Queensland galloper Alligator Blood is set to join the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott stable in Sydney after a failed stint with the Sunshine Coast's Billy Healy.
The five-year-old gelding began his career unbeaten in five starts before tasting a very narrow second to Super Seth in the 2019 Group 1 Caulfield Guineas.
Then trained by David Vandyke, Alligator Blood went one better in the Australian Guineas in February 2020, leading all of the way to defeat Superstorm and Soul Patch in the Group 1 at Flemington.
That would be the horse's last win before a failed campaign towards the All-Star Mile and Golden Eagle which led to almost 12 months on the sidelines with a near career-ending injury.
After having three runs for Healy across August and December, the owners of the Group 1 winner have opted to send him south of the border to the Waterhouse & Bott yard in a bid to rejuvenate him.
Alligator Blood was set to join Tulloch Lodge at the beginning of this preparation, but connections opted to send the horse to Healy, as they have 12 other horses in work with the young trainer.
However, they have now decided to send the nine-time winner south, with co-trainer Bott saying “it made sense” to be patient with the horse.
“We always left this open as a potential plan that he may have a few runs early into the campaign in Queensland, where it made a lot of sense for him to resume,” he said in a video conference on Alligator Blood's Facebook page.
“I guess under some circumstances, we'll try and get away from the big weights there in Queensland now he's had that foundation and had a couple of runs.
“Now we can really sort of try and target some suitable races and try and take advantage of that platform that's been laid for us.
“He may not get back to the form that we all want to see; unfortunately that's a large possibility for these horses coming off long breaks, so we've got to keep that open as a realistic possibility.”
Alligator Blood had been set for the Magic Millions Cup on the Gold Coast next month, but those plans seem likely to change given his poor form so far this campaign.
He only battled away to run eighth in Saturday's Listed Lough Neagh Stakes at Eagle Farm, despite getting a good run in transit.
The horse has had 18 starts for nine wins and amassed over $1.8 million in prizemoney.