Orchestrating another Derby success story

Cover image courtesy of Race Images

For a race that generally only ever throws up a couple of horses that press onto the Australian autumn, the New Zealand Derby boasts a magnificent strike rate of success in autumn features and indeed Group 1 races beyond that.

The 2400-metre Kiwi showpiece will be run on Saturday, where emerging superstar filly Orchestral (NZ) (Savabeel) is marked at long odds to land her maiden Group 1 success, having won her past three starts in dominant fashion.

The filly is trained in partnership by Roger James and Robert Wellwood and is aiming to give James a sixth win in the race. He’s also had another four minor placings in the Derby.

Australian market framers expect Orchestral to win this weekend and then come to Australia for the Vinery Stud S. on March 30 and ATC Oaks on April 13, both of which she’s marked favourite for.

It’s a precedent well worn by a number of former Kiwi stars, who used the New Zealand Derby as a springboard to future Group 1 glory in Australia.

And you don’t necessarily have to win the Derby to have success later on.

Nom Du Jeu (NZ), Tavago (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) and Jon Snow (NZ) were all beaten at Ellerslie before winning the ATC Derby that same campaign.

Gallery: Horses who were beaten at Ellerslie before winning the ATC Derby that same campaign, images courtesy of Sportpix

Mongolian Khan broke a drought when he completed the NZ-ATC Derby double in 2015, becoming the first horse to do so since Bonecrusher (NZ) (Pag Asa) in 1985/1986. Mongolian Khan franked his Derby success even further when landing the Caulfield Cup later that year.

That’s four ATC Derbys in a 10-year span from a minimal number of representatives.

Between 1985 and 1993, the Derby had three winners go on to land the Cox Plate the next season – Bonecrusher, Surfers Paradise (NZ) (Crested Wave {USA}) and The Phantom Chance (NZ) (Noble Bijou {USA}).

Other modern-day Derby winners to enjoy Group 1 success in Australia have included Gingernuts (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), Jimmy Choux (NZ) and Silent Achiever (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), while Xcellent (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) was third in Makybe Diva’s (GB) (Desert King {Ire}) Melbourne Cup.

The James-trained Zonda (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) didn’t win a Group 1 on this side of the Tasman, but left a lasting impression with his G2 Alister Clark S. success at his first run here.

Beaten Derby runners to have made their presence felt here are headed by Veandercross (NZ) (Crossways {GB}), who became Australian Horse of the Year in 1992/93, while Volkstok’N’Barrell (NZ (Tavistock {NZ}) won a Rosehill Guineas after being rolled in the NZ Derby.

Girl Power

James’ remarkable record in the New Zealand Derby includes the success of two fillies – Silent Achiever and Tidal Light (NZ (Diagramatic {USA}), the latter a winner of the G1 Canterbury Guineas during her 3-year-old season.

Fillies to have won the Derby are few and far between. Since Tidal Light, the only others have been Habibi (NZ) (Ekraar {USA}) in 2013, Silent Achiever the year before and Popsy (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) in 1993.

That makes James well-versed to talk about what kind of filly it takes to win the race, given both of his fillies came to Australia and were Group 1 stars after their Derby success.

James said it’s unfair to try and compare Orchestral to that pair at this stage, because she’s yet to even win at Group 1-level, but the signs so far are very positive.

“Tidal Light was pretty freakish and Silent Achiever’s record is pretty good,” he said. “She was only beaten a neck in a Cox Plate. This (filly, Orchestral) hasn’t won a Group 1 yet, but she hasn’t had the opportunity to either.

“If you listen to James (McDonald) he would say the comparison is very strong and he did win the Derby on Silent Achiever.

“She’s been very strong in her last two starts. After the line she’s been eight and 10 (lengths) in front and I think a mile and a half will really suit her.”

And as far as a Derby preparation has gone, this year’s contestant has provided far less headaches than Silent Achiever did.

“Silent Achiever was only eating a hatful of feed a day. I did so little with her. I can remember the morning of the Derby, it came up a wet track and I was that nervous because I felt I hadn’t done enough with her.

“I was frightened to do any more with her because I was afraid she wouldn’t get there at all. I do think you walk a tightrope with the staying 3-year-olds. Get them fit enough to run the trip, but be respectful of their level of maturity, whereas she’s (Orchestral) just copped everything. She has the constitution of a lion.”

Silent Achiever did eventually mature and start to ‘do’ better, which enabled her to complete the Ranvet-Tancred Group 1 double in Sydney as a 5-year-old.

Why the Derby over the Oaks?

Since the New Zealand Derby was switched in 2005/06 from Boxing Day to a later date in the autumn, it has changed the preparation for New Zealand trainers wanting to come to Australia.

James says it’s a matter of timing for why he might opt for a Derby over a New Zealand Oaks tilt with a filly.

“I don’t put them to the Derby because I’m being arrogant and cocky and think they’re too good for the fillies, it’s more that it opens more doors in Sydney,” he said.

“If you go to the New Zealand Oaks, it’s three weeks later, so you have to put another run into their preparation, you have a 20-hour round trip to Wellington and then you miss the Vinery.

“Whereas if you go to the Derby, it’s right here two hours away and you haven’t put the extra run into them and you have a month to the Vinery and then the Oaks. It’s more a matter of convenience than anything.”

New Zealand on the up

After decades of low prizemoney and low confidence, James says there’s been a distinct change in recent times for the New Zealand industry.

He said he could remember the days when New Zealand was punching above its weight in prizemoney and matching Australia.

He feels around 1990 things started to turn and there had been precious little light in the tunnel since.

“We were punching above our weight in prizemoney and it’s fair to say it turned and Australia started to go forward with great enthusiasm and we started to drop off,” he said.

“For 30 years it’s been hard and the last 10 it’s been dreadful. I wear my heart on my sleeve and you’d go home at night and there wasn’t a day where you wouldn’t hear ‘I got a stake the other day but it won’t cover the training fees.’

“I have been saying for years that when anything bottoms out, there’s only one way to go. It didn’t look like it was going to change, but I have to say with the involvement of Entain and the amalgamation of a few racecourses, which was really the basis of the Messara Report, which took forever to be implemented, the industry in the last six months (has turned for the better).

“There was an announcement before Karaka of a Kiwi slot race, but the six months before that, largely due to Entain, the stakes had risen by 30 per cent in six months.

“Then we got that huge announcement on top of that. Entain are very committed to us, they see our wagering increasing, and they are pretty keen to grow us.

“It’s a very positive time for racing. It’s never going to match Australia, but being able to make it a viable activity is something we’ve been wanting for a long time.”