3 minute read
Explosive Jack could chase a slice of history and a fourth Derby success after his dominant South Australian Derby win on the weekend.
He was nothing short of impressive as he powered away to add the Adelaide feature to Tasmanian and ATC Derby victories. The win gave Ciaron Maher and David Eustace their maiden Group 1 success in SA and jockey John Allen an amazing fourth Derby win in the past six years.
Explosive Jack defying a pre-race betting drift to win by 2.4 lengths from stablemate Let's Karaka Deel while ex-local jockey Will Price finished third aboard Nobel Heights for Matt Cumani.
The winning stable now has to decide if the durable youngster could possibly head north and chase a fourth Derby, before resting up and taking aim at the big staying features during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
"We'll let the dust settle before making a decision on a Queensland Derby run," Maher said on RSN's Racing Pulse.
"But he might winter up there anyway before coming back for races like the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup as a four-year-old."
The cream rose to the top on Derby Day.
Patrick Payne's smart youngster Cherry Tortoni made light work of rivals in the Listed Adelaide Guineas.
A luckless runner-up in the Australian Guineas earlier in the year, Cherry Tortoni was simply ridden like the best horse and won accordingly, with Todd Pannell continuing his strong association with the Payne stable.
Michael Hickmott's Reynolds continued his brilliant form since coming to Australian, winning his third race from just four starts in the Provincial Super Series Final
Going Gaga claimed the Autumn Series Final while Brenton Jones and Alana Kelly walked away with the SA Sprint Series Final with Trygve.
And the South Australians starred over the border.
Jamie Kah landed five winners at Caulfield, including a win for Goolwa trainer David Jolly aboard Streetcar Stranger.
And with the dust settling on Derby Day the focus now shifts to Saturday's Goodwood and the clash of SA's star sprinters Gytrash, Behemoth, Kemalpasa and Instant Celebrity, who sit at the top of the market for SA's premier Group 1 feature.
