Weather With You ridden by Mark Zahra wins race 6 the 3YO Geelong Classic 2200m during the Geelong Cup race day at the Geelong Racing Club in Geelong. Photo / AAP
The best version of Kiwi three-year-old Weather With You has finally turned up this campaign to put his Victoria Derby campaign back on track.
The Cambridge gelding arrived in Australia four starts ago with a huge reputation and was immediately a Derby shortener after a brave fresh up second but
a couple of one-paced runs to follow looked to have left his Derby dream in tatters.
But it burst back into reality yesterday with a stunning stayer performance in the A$130,000 Geelong Classic, putting all the pressure into the race outside the leader for new rider Mark Zahra before kicking clear at the top of the straight.
That saw him hold out Ocean Park colt Ocean's Fourteen for his first career win and one that has seen his odds for the Derby in nine days time slashed from $26 to $13.
"I think a culmination of factors helped today - blinkers on, a better draw and even the give in the track," said co-trainer Andrew Forsman.
