Lindsay Park trainer David Hayes is pleased with the final preparation of his three year old Derryn for the Group 1 $1.5m Stradbroke Handicap (1350m) at Doomben on Saturday.
Trainer David Hayes is pleased with Derryn, above, in the lead up to the Stradbroke Handicap at Doomben. Photo by Steve Hart.
Derryn had a hit out on Tuesday morning in the lead up to the Stradbroke Handicap and even though he wasn’t pushed out to his maximum, Hayes was happy with the way he completed his work.
“It was nice work. He wasn’t out to break records,” Hayes said on Tuesday morning.
“He did it very smoothly and I would say if he pulls up well in the next twenty-four hours he will run a really good race under the handicap conditions.”
Derryn had his first Queensland start when an eye catching third behind Redzel and Counterattack in the Group 1 $700,000 James Boag’s Premium Doomben 10000 (1200m) at Doomben on May 13 but then was never threatened when sixth to Clearly Innocent in the Group 1 $700,000 Darley Kingsford-Smith Cup (1300m) at Eagle Farm two weeks later.
Hayes, who trains in partnership with his sin Ben and nephew Tom Dabernig, said heading back to Doomben on Saturday would be a big plus for the Hinchinbrook colt.
“For an Eastern state horse to be able to handle Doomben like that and coming back to the handicap conditions, things will be in his favour,” Hayes said.
“You just have to forget he ran here at Eagle Farm and just like a lot of horses he didn’t like the surface.”
The Stradbroke Handicap was scheduled to be run at Eagle Farm over 1400m this weekend but after the surface raced well below standard on Kingsford-Smith Cup Race Day, Racing Queensland transferred the meeting to Doomben with the Stradbroke Handicap distance being reduced to 1350m.
Derryn won two of his three runs during the 2017 Sydney Autumn Carnival with wins in the Listed $125,000 Quickway Constructions Darby Munro Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill and in the Group 2 $600,000 Arrowfield 3yo Sprint (1200m) at Randwick.
Sandwiched in between those two victories was an eighth to Chautauqua in the Group 1 $2.5m Darley T J Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 1.
Derryn is high up in the market order for the Stradbroke Handicap at $8 with Ladbrokes.com.au behind the Kingsford-Smith Cup winner Clearly Innocent at $4 and Doomben 10,000 runner up Counterattack at $7.50.
Early market order for the Stradbroke Handicap at Ladbrokes.com.au: $4 Clearly Innocent, $7.50 Counterattack, $8 Derryn, $9 Ulmann, $10 Impending, $13 Jungle Edge, Mackintosh, $15 Bonny O’Reilly, In Her Time, $17 Burning Front, Egyptian Symbol, $21 Gold Symphony, $26 Good Project, Hooked, The Virginian, $34 or better the rest.
