Sam is sending Vinnie into battle against the ‘big boys’

Sam Barker concedes he is having “a throw at the stumps” with his pacer Ultimate Vinnie (Alta Christiano), who takes on several Group 1 harness racing winners in Friday night’s Group 2 VHRC Caduceus Classic at Melton.

The 25-year-old trainer revealed a recent gear change on the five-year-old has given him the confidence to tackle the likes of Victoria Cup winner Max Delight and Better Eclipse, who took out last year’s Chariots Of Fire and was placed in the Miracle Mile at his next start.

“He has had trouble with his wind being cut off and he hadn’t been finishing his races off, so two starts ago we put a chocking plate on him,” Barker said.

“At his first start with it he didn’t get a clear run at Melton and then he won last start at Melton, so I took it as a positive and decided to have a go at the big boys with him.”

The winner of more than $125,000 in prizemoney, Ultimate Vinnie was purchased by Taylah Markham as a yearling for a meagre $700.

“She liked the look of him on Facebook, but he was a handful so I got him to train,” he said.

Barker said he realised when the son of Alta Christiano scored on debut at Bendigo that he would make a racehorse.

“He worked alright at home, but didn’t do much at the trials and we thought he may be just a good track worker. But when he won first-up as a two-year-old, it proved to us that he was a racehorse,” he said.

Barker is hoping that Ultimate Vinnie and Tayla French can settle three back along the pegs from an inside second row draw on Friday night.

“Three back is the best place to be in that class,” he said.

Barker is quietly confident Ultimate Vinnie will be competitive in his first attempt at Group-level racing.

“He raced against Better Eclipse and Act Now in the Vicbred series, and he wasn’t disgraced. I believe he has the ability to race in this grade,” he said.

“I’m not confident that he can win, but I think he’ll run a good race because following speed is his go.”

For complete race entries, click here.

by John Dunne, for Harness Racing Victoria