Road To Paris (right) beats Autumn Glory for a stable quinella in the HKJC World Pool New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on Saturday. Photo / Kenton Wright
The King of the Derby has his eyes on another one after his dramatic quinella in the classic at Ellerslie on Saturday.
But trainer Roger James isn’t quite sure which Derby that might be.
James and training partner Robert Wellwood trained Road To Paris and Autumn Glory to run first and second in the $1.25 million HKJC World Pool New Zealand Derby, part of an eventful treble for the stable on Champions Day.
It was James’ seventh win in the New Zealand Derby and he thinks he can squeeze another one out of the son of Circus Maximus.
But while Road To Paris is now among the top six in the market for the Australian Derby at Randwick on April 4, that is not his most likely target.
“I spoke to his owner Ron Wanless today and he said if it is possible, he’d prefer to target the Queensland Derby,” James said on Sunday.
“Ron is a Queenslander through and through and he and his wife Judi would love to have a crack at their Derby so if he was going to go to Australia, it could well be to Queensland.”
That isn’t quite as easy as it sounds though as Road To Paris would have to be let down for a few weeks then wound up again for the Queensland Derby, whereas if he was to head to Randwick, it is now less than four weeks away.
James and Wellwood did manage to win a Queensland Derby via the New Zealand Derby in 2022 with Pinarello, who ran fifth at Ellerslie before winning the Trelawney Stud Stakes in late April and the Queensland Derby five weeks later, in the last race ride for popular jockey Leith Innes.
“After talking to Ron, I will start working backwards from the Queensland Derby and see if we think it is doable,” James said.
The trainer will talk to owners Yulong about the future of Derby runner-up Autumn Glory and would love the opportunity to take her to Queensland too for a shot at the Queensland Oaks.
While many would expect Autumn Glory to be shipped off to Australia and potentially a trainer like Chris Waller, Yulong already has Ohope Wins with Waller being aimed at the ATC Oaks on April 11.
Rather than them clashing, Yulong’s best chance of securing a Group 1 with Autumn Glory could be joining her stablemate on the plane to Queensland, if Road To Paris heads that way.
“And we are keen to take Sweynesday to the Stradbroke in June as well,” James said.
“Saturday’s win will help his stake earnings total to get a start in the Stradbroke and we think 1400m at Eagle Farm with a light weight would really suit him.”
James and Wellwood aren’t the only winning trainers from Saturday with some thinking to do, as both humans and equines recovered from the spectacular day of racing.
Mark Walker says Sistema Stakes winner Lara Antipova will spend a week on water walker duties before heading to Te Akau’s Cranbourne barn, but he is yet to decide whether she will have her final juvenile outing in Melbourne or Sydney.
He and training partner Sam Bergerson are also toying with the idea of taking NZB Kiwi runner-up Belle Cheval to the Vinery Stakes at Rosehill on March 28.
She was dazzling on Saturday but the Vinery could also contain New Zealand Oaks winner Ohope Wins and Saturday’s stunning Randwick Guineas winner Sheza Alibi, who really isn’t a horse you want to be running into.
“What she does next will be [owner] David Archer’s decision but we think she is a very good filly,” Walker said.
That provides punters with a smart Futures play with the TAB because Belle Cheval is $10 to win the Vinery – but futures bets are refunded if she isn’t nominated on March 23, which would almost certainly depend on whether a star like Sheza Alibi was going to start.
So if the Vinery comes up super strong, she may not be nominated and punters potentially get their money back.
There is still no decision on whether another Matamata star in Legarto will have one more start before her impending retirement, with Ken Kelso liking the idea of the Australian Cup on March 28.
“We will talk about that in the next few days but I’d love to take her back to Flemington with Opie [Bosson] on,” Kelso said.
Kelso was pleased with the condition of his elite sprinter Alabama Lass yesterday after she took on the running rail and lost in the Haunui Farm King’s Plate on Saturday.
“She was walking almost normally and only has a superficial wound up under one leg but she will be fine.
“Her season is over but she will definitely race on next season.”
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.