Danny O’Brien has captured the major staying races in the spring with one exception, the Victoria Derby, and his wish to win that race has received an added boost with the strong staying performance of Cetshwayo.
Although he was having only his second start, the three-year-old son of Dundeel proved too strong in the Victoria Derby Trial (1800m) at Flemington on Wednesday to score a golden ticket into the classic.
“I’m hoping he’s a Derby horse. He’ll need another run or two to get the freshness out of him beforehand though,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien was happy with Cetshwayo’s debut when he finished an unlucky eighth at Geelong where he wobbled around in the straight.
“I told (jockey) Jamie (Kah) to be quiet on him from his wide barrier,” O’Brien said.
Cetshwayo is raced by Trevor Delroy who has bred and raced Australian Derby winner Ethiopia and BMW Stakes winner Cedarberg.
The victory completed a double for Kah and she believed it was the first time she had ridden a winner for O’Brien.
“He settled beautifully and on that, he’d run out the journey without any problem. He would have won by further but he was waiting for them on the line,” Kah said.
