Sanderson, 22, is having a breakout season in the Sulky and has two of the top chances – War Dan Buddy and Kiss – in the two $100,000 Vicbred finals at Melton.
Sanderson will break his personal record for wins in a season as he is already at 116 (compared to his previous record of 108 in 2022) and still has more than a month to go.
He sits fifth in the statewide Victorian premiership this season and is fifth in the metropolitan rankings, tied with the great Chris Alford.
More importantly, the quality of wins and opportunities for feature racing have also increased dramatically.
That’s largely thanks to the huge support from top trainers Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin and Leviathan owners Danny and Jo Zavitsanos.
Just last month, Sanderson broke through for his first Group 1 victory when Zavitsanos-owned Fox Dan outclassed his rivals in the Victoria Derby.
It came just weeks after Sanderson rode the same horse to a fantastic second place in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka, at Menangle.
“It’s just been the most amazing season. It’s really been a dream come true,” Sanderson said.
“I owe so much to Emma and Clayton for the support they have given me and the trust they have placed in me.
“Hopefully I can reward them for it again this weekend.”
Both War Dan Buddy and Kiss are trained by Stewart and Tonkin, while War Dan Buddy is owned by the Zavitsanos.
War Dan Buddy gets the chance to turn the tables on his star stablemate Miki To Success, given their respective barrier draws in the 4YO final and gelding final.
“It’s the draw we needed to have a real chance of beating him,” he said. “We have options. I’ll have to talk to Emma and Clayton about tactics, but it could be that we sit on him and try to beat him on speed, that would be our best chance.
“I thought War Dan Buddy did a great job of sitting outside him and still coming back the second two starts and then we won our semi-final last week really well, but he was obviously in the other semi-final.”
While barrier one seems ideal for War Dan Buddy, Sanderson said it was the one alley he didn’t want with Kiss in the Vicbred 4YO Mares final.
“For all her strengths, and she has plenty of them, early speed isn’t one of them,” he said.
“I thought she could control the race pretty much everywhere, but now we need luck.
“I’m sure she’s the best mare, but hopefully I can work my way through.
“She deserves to win. She was fantastic to sit out and beat The Answer in her heat and even better in the semi-final last week.”
Through Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Victoria
#Sandersons #Dream #Season #advances #Vicbred #Finals