Find out what the jockeys made of their mounts after the Group 1 $2m Bentley Australian Derby (2400m) at Royal Randwick.
John Allen (Explosive Jack): “He is a tough horse, the distance was never going to be a worry with him. We got cover on the back of Young Werther. Montefilia actually popped out down the side and pushed me out a bit wide. I didn’t want to take off on him too early so I let her come around me.
“Once we got to the outside, he really let down and he tries his guts out this horse.
“I thought I did but I didn’t want to celebrate just in case I didn’t. With the horse in between us it was hard to tell. I thought I had my head down on the line. It was close but we got there.”
“I’ve had great luck with these owners. They are a great bunch of blokes. They’ve always supported me 100% so it is good to pay them back again. Hopefully there will be more successes in the future.”
Tom Marquand (Young Werther): “Huge performance. It was a shame that the winner came the other side of Lion’s Roar because if next door he probably would have knuckled down and beaten him. It was a shame.”
Brenton Avdulla (Lion’s Roar): “Gave me a fantastic ride, tried hard. Had a great trip.”
Jason Collett (Montefilia): “Travelled a bit strong. Shot through but overpowered late.”
Craig Williams (Khoekhoe): “He’s definitely a quality horse. He gave me a lovely ride throughout from a very generous barrier. I think he thought his job was done. He was last horse off the bridle but got to the front and thought it was job done. He’s a high quality horse going forward.”
James McDonald (Sky Lab): “He’s just had enough.”
Damien Oliver (Milford): “Ran OK. Will be better left handed.”
Kerrin McEvoy (Rocket Spade): “Didn’t appreciate the steady tempo.”
Hugh Bowman (The Frontman): “He’s just not settling well enough at the moment.”
Tim Clark (Yaletown): “See how he pulls up. Obviously nowhere near his best.”
Rachel King (Prompt Prodigy): “The back up probably too much for him. Likely needs a break.”
Jamie Kah (Toscanini): “He’s not very interested at the moment. Switched off here.”
Tommy Berry (Favreau): “Lovely staying performance. Just add a bit more brilliance.”
Keagan Latham (Rondino): “Really happy that he relaxed really nicely. I think he was revved up last week. He handled the whole race really well but better next prep.”
Andrew Adkins (Zakspeed): “Nice run stepping up in class. Only maturing as he goes.”
Damian Lane (Olympic Gaze): “Good run for a horse of his grade. They had too much the last 600m.”
