Australian Derby 2021 Tips, Preview & Best Bets

He found himself back against his age group for the first time this preparation in the Rosehill Guineas, a Group One he all but won, providing a perfect tow in for the eventual winner Mo'unga but the effort was a definite pass mark with the Australian Derby in mind.

Sustaining a long run but still bolting into to score first-up at the Provincials on a Heavy 9, his second-up victory that followed on February 6 was in the worst part of the track albeit was a little fortunate to get that eventual inside run and it is worth noting he was a month between runs in that latest attempt, so there should be some improvement there.

Proven in all conditions and with now two ten-furlong efforts under the belt, James McDonald has more options this time around from barrier six where he can sit midfield if not a little closer on Sky Lab who goes on top in a competitive Derby field.

While this filly was the proven class runner going into the Surround Stakes as a dual Group One winner last spring, the market support off a pair of trials which indicated that she would need further than the 1400m, was surprising.

Although the last 600m times did't quite back it up, that return performance was visually much better to that of Hungry Heart's, a frustrating galloper who managed to peak off that outing when winning the Phar Lap Stakes before going back-to-back in last Saturday's Vinery Stud Stakes, defying an on-pace bias at Rosehill in the process.

The 1400m to 2000m second-up wasn't conventional in the Rosehill Guineas, but Montefilia was hard to miss when getting off heels at the 200m and finishing off strongly for third, recording the fastest last 600m for that event in the process.

Is yet to deliver on the early hype which saw him start favourite in the VRC Derby at just start three but it has been a slower build-up into the autumn, with an improved showing second-up indicating he was crying out for ten furlongs which he got in the Alister Clark, but it wasn't run to suit. 

The last four Australian Derby winners have won the Tulloch Stakes en-route to this three-year-old staying feature seven days later and from that race last Saturday, Young Werther produced arguably the run of that 2000m lead-up, but just couldn't make the required in-roads on that leaders track.

That was his first-time racing in the clockwise direction, so the Danny O'Brien-trained colt can bounce off that performance and suited now by the rise to 2400m, they have elected to put the blinkers on the son of Tavistock for his Grand Final.