15
BMWAustralian Derby
The favourite has the
form line
There is no better guide to the Group 1 ATC
Australian Derby (2400m, Randwick) than the
Rosehill Guineas (2000m, Rosehill).
Criterion
, who was so dominant in the Rosehill
Guineas on March 29, deserves his place as
Derby favourite as he attempts to become the
20th horse—the sixth since 1990—to complete
the double.
With many of the winners of the major
pointers to the Derby not running, such as
Dissident (Randwick Guineas), Shamus Award
(Australian Guineas), Victoria Derby (Polanski)
and Spring Champion Stakes (Complacent), the
Rosehill Guineas becomes the most important
lead-up race.
However, it is worth noting that the first two to
finish in the Victoria Derby, in which Polanski
beat Complacent, were
Thunder Fantasy
(third) and Criterion (fourth). In the Rosehill
Guineas, these two reversed their positions
from the spring with Criterion beating Thunder
Fantasy, who finished strongly for second,
beaten 3.5 lengths.
They also met in the Australian Guineas
(1600m, Flemington) on March 1, when
Criterion finished an excellent second behind
Shamus Award, with Thunder Fantasy running
on well for third.
You get the feeling that these two promising
stayers are not going to be far from each other
in the Derby.
Their trainers
David Payne
(Criterion) and
Anthony Cummings
(Thunder Fantasy) are
chasing their first Australian Derby. Cummings’
father, Bart, has won five. Anthony Cummings
also will be represented by
Surge Ahead
.
Puccini in tune
Only two horses have won a New Zealand
Derby and an Australian Derby, and they
are champions—Bonecrusher (1986) and
Gloaming (1918).
Puccini
is attempting to be the third, and
the first since the NZ Derby was moved from
Boxing Day to March in 2005.
Savvy’s time
Savvy Nature
hasn’t won since he beat All
Rigged Up in the Group 2 Vase (2040m) at
Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day in October,
but his fourth behind Criterion in the Rosehill
Guineas showed he’s on the way back.
The only winner of the Vase to win the
Australian Derby was Gold Guru in 1998.
A moment for Moses
An Australian Derby eluded
Kevin Moses
during his wonderful riding career, but he gets
his chance to win the Classic as a trainer with
the promising
Singing Flame
.
The trainers
Of the current trainers with a win,
Gerald Ryan
,
who won in 2003 with Clangalang, looks best
placed with his gelding
Koroibete
.
Gold Coast trainer
Bruce Hill (Teronado)
is chasing his first Group 1 win. In fact, his
previous best result was at Listed level (four
times), the most recent with Caliente (Mode
Plate, Eagle Farm, December 2012).
David Payne, trainer of Criterion, was twice
champion apprentice in South Africa. He rode
399 winners. Payne started training at 24 and
has trained the winner of every Group 1 race in
South Africa. He trained more than 100 Group
1 winners in South Africa before moving to
Australia in 2002. He has trained three Group 1
winners in Australia.
The jockeys
Only seven current jockeys have won an
Australian Derby, headed by
Jim Cassidy
and
Glen Boss
with three wins.
Hugh Bowman
,
who rides the favourite Criterion, is chasing his
first Australian Derby, as is Sydney’s leading
rider of recent years,
Nash Rawiller
(Gallatin).
The Hall of Fame jockeys Tom Hales (six wins)
and George Moore (5 wins) have ridden the
most Australian Derby winners.
In Focus
