Order Of The Sun To Contest The South Australian Derby

Progressive colt Order Of The Sun will contest the 2014 South Australian Derby at Morphettville next weekend after recording a dominant win in the VRC St Leger at Flemington yesterday.

Order Of The Sun stamped herself as a South Australian Derby contender with a dominant victory in the VRC St Leger at Flemington yesterday.

Order Of The Sun stamped herself as a South Australian Derby contender with a dominant victory in the VRC St Leger at Flemington yesterday. Photo by: Steve Hart

Order Of The Sun was taken straight to the lead by jockey Chad Schofield and he maintained that position for the entire race; running away from the rest of the field in the final stages of the race to record a dominant win from pre-race favourite Honey Steel’s Gold and Throw The King.

Schofield was delighted with the performance of Order Of The Sun and believes that the Encosta De Lago colt will prove very tough to beat in the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville on May 3.

“He bowled along and travelled strongly in my hands for me,” Schofield said after the race.

“He never dropped the bridle at any stage, he was tough and strong and fit and he ran his rivals into the ground.

“He was very well prepared for that distance and he’ll be very hard to beat in the Derby.

“I think he does have enough brilliance to match it with the stronger three-year-olds.”

Order Of The Sun started his 2014 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival campaign with a solid win in the Klink Handicap (1600m) at Royal Randwick on February 8 and finished within five lengths of Boban and It’s A Dundeel when thrown in the deep end at Group 1 level in the Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Warwick Farm on March 8.

The three-year-old failed to fire on a heavy track in both the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 29 and the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) at the same venue on April 5, but clearly relished the step-up in trip in the VRC St Leger.

The South Australian Derby odds of Order Of The Sun were slashed after his VRC St Leger victory and he is now equal favourite for the Group 1 event with Bring Something at odds of $4.

Bring Something stamped himself as the horse to beat in the South Australian Derby with an impressive win in the Listed Galilee Series Final (2400m) at Caulfield on April 12 and performed fairly over 2500 metres in the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival.

About The Author

Thomas Hackett

Thomas is a passionate and opinionated racing journalist and punter who has been obsessed with horse racing since he backed Saintly to win the 1996 Melbourne Cup. An international racing enthusiast, he has his finger on the pulse of racing news not just from Australia but all around the world.