His form was ordinary when he first arrived in Australia and he made a below-par effort in the Rosehill Guineas, but everything has improved since then. His trackwork earlier this week is the best he has produced since being in Australia and there is plenty of hope he will produce his New Zealand form today.
Helping him will be the tough conditions, resulting from a week of ordinary weather and, more importantly, torrential rain on Saturday.
Preferment is a tough opponent. He looked good winning the Victoria Derby in the spring and looks a better horse now.
Ellerslie today might be difficult. Storming The Tower in the first is not a bad way to open the programme despite the 59kg.
He was badly hampered by the slow pace at Ellerslie last start. He finished the race off very nicely to be not far off the winner.
If this race is run at a better clip he will be difficult to keep out.
You had to like the finishing run of Gran Via (R3) on debut and a similar result should mean a win today.
Race 6 is tricky, but Kanjistar is a real chance, as is Prima against the 3-year-olds in Race 7.
He missed out in the New Zealand Derby last start, but if his placed form in the Waikato Guineas and Avondale Guineas counts for anything he should prove difficult to handle here.
Endean Rose (R8) looked good winning at Tauranga last start and if leading or sitting on the pace is the go today she is the one to be with.
Twenty-four hours after securing his first group one win as a thoroughbred owner, retired stockbroker Scott Richardson was taking time out in his usual quiet and understated manner to celebrate a victory that has been a lifetime in the making.
Richardson's gallant 6-year-old mare Diademe provided that breakthrough victory at the highest level when she refused to yield in the closing stages of Saturday's Fiber Fresh New Zealand Thoroughbred Breeders' Stakes at Te Aroha and ignited a smile that Richardson has found hard to shake since.
"It's a tough game this racing game and I've had plenty of slow ones over the years so when you are lucky enough to get a win like this you have to savour it," he mused from his home in Mount Maunganui where he retired about three years ago after working in Auckland.
While Richardson isn't that interested in breeding his own horses, the pragmatist in him may be forced into a rethink after the win of Diademe on the weekend.
"I've never really wanted to breed the mares I've owned and to that end I did enter Diademe in the Magic Millions Broodmare sale on the Gold Coast that is coming up at the end of May," he said. "It wasn't to say she was finished as a racemare but you have to consider what you will do when that day comes.
"Now she has won that elusive Group One I may have to rethink things as I know with her own breeding any progeny she might produce could be very valuable. If you had asked me a few weeks ago I would have given you a very definite answer but such is the beauty of this game I'm going to have a talk with a few people including Gary Chittick at Waikato Stud and Murray Baker before I decide what to do."
Finding a winner
•Mongolian Khan could surprise the favourite Preferment in the Australian Derby at Randwick today.
•For those punters heading out to Ellerslie today, Storming The Tower could kick your day off on the right note in the first race.
•Owner received a huge thrill when Diademe saluted at Te Aroha on Saturday.
- additional reporting, NZ Racing Desk
