Ben Melham to ride Daysee Doom

Daysee Doom is ready to experience her first Derby day at Flemington, but her regular jockey must wait before taking part in one of Australia’s iconic race meetings.

Sydney’s premier apprentice Andrew Adkins has been held back from riding the five-year-old mare by his boss, retired champion jockey- turned-trainer Ron Quinton.

Although Adkins has formed an affinity with Daysee Doom by guiding her in all but two of her 16 starts, Quinton has erred on the side of caution by booking experienced Melbourne jockey Ben Melham for Saturday’s Group One Myer Classic (1600m).

“It’s too much for the young bloke to absorb Derby day in Melbourne,” Quinton said.

“It wouldn’t be quite fair to put him under that pressure so we decided to put a local rider on. Andrew would have liked to have had the opportunity but he understands the position.”

Quinton has also gone with experience for Daysee Doom’s stablemate Dixie Blossoms, with multiple Group One-winning jockey Corey Brown to ride the mare for the third time.

Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom tuned up for their Melbourne assignment in The Nivison at Randwick on October 21, when they ran fourth and fifth respectively in the Group Three race over 1200-metres.

Quinton ran the pair in The Nivison because they would have gone without a race for almost a month since Dixie Blossoms beat her stablemate in the 1600m-Angst Stakes.

“I didn’t want to take them to Caulfield so they had a burn around Randwick and ran very well,” Quinton said.

Dixie Blossoms and Daysee Doom had a decent work-out in the Melbourne direction on Saturday and headed south on Monday night.

“It’s a really competitive race. It’s a really classy line-up. Any one of five or six could win the race and I couldn’t be happier with my two,” Quinton said.

Dixie Blossoms. fourth in the Myer Classic last year, is at $10 after drawing barrier nine in the field of 16 plus four emergencies while Daysee Doom ($15) has come up with gate 19.

She will come in three places if those emergencies drawn inside her don’t gain a start.