Australian Derby 2024 Betting Tips - Riff to land another feature

Alex Marsh

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Last updated: 03 Apr 2024

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Alex Marsh 03 Apr 2024

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The Australian Derby is the last of four Group 1 races run on the opening day of 'The Championships'
Worth $2 million, this major is run over 2400m at Randwick
The 2024 edition will be contested on Saturday, April 6
Our preview is included below

Expired

Riff Rocket is aiming for a third Group 1 win in the Australian Derby. (Getty)

Regarded as the top ranked three-year-old event for both Australia and New Zealand is the Australian Derby, which is run over 2400m at Royal Randwick.

2024 Australian Derby Tips
2024 Australian Derby Field & Odds

Dating back to 1861, this staying feature is one of our oldest and most famous races, with Phar Lap, Tulloch, Dulcify, Kingston Town and Bonecrusher some of the notable winners throughout history.

Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas winner Riff Rocket heads the 2024 Australian Derby market, with $2.90 his quote via Ladbrokes

2024 Australian Derby Tips

2024 Australian Derby Best Bet - Riff Rocket

He brought up Group 1 win number two on Golden Slipper Day when swooping to score in the Rosehill Guineas, which is the traditional lead-up race to the Australian Derby.

The Chris Waller-trained gelding rounded out his spring prep with a narrow triumph in the Victoria Derby and he returned in style with a brilliant 1400m victory in the CS Hayes Stakes.

While Victoria/Australia Derby winning doubles are rare, Hitotsu completed it in 2022 and Riff Rocket is arguably the best middle distance/staying three-year-old in Australia at present.

There's a few angles that you could take, but this gelding is the safest, a bombproof galloper who has only missed the top three once and there were genuine excuses (post-race) for that loss.

2024 Australian Derby Next Best Bet - Immediacy

His Rosehill Guineas performance was a lot better than what it appeared to be at first glance, where the Victorian visitor pulled in the run via his first clockwise attempt.

Although he was successful the start prior when produced on the fresh side, he may just needed that first Sydney run and youngsters often improve via their second try on the other leg.

We were with Immediacy in all three of his Victorian wins and it's notable that he beat older rivals in the second of those, which is never easy at start two, especially in metro company.

He was specked ahead of the Rosehill Guineas and the son of Tarzino still wasn't beaten far there in what was a swoopers race, so he does look the forgotten horse in the market.

2024 Australian Derby Value Bet - Noisy Boy

A pair of stakes attempts at the back-end of the first prep came too soon for this gelding, but he's furnished with a little more time, having completed three runs this time in.

A big, strong galloper from the Todd Howlett stable, Noisy Boy only got warm late over 1500m in the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes and he was crying out for more ground in that outing.

The Tulloch Stakes has been a great form reference for the Australian Derby in recent years and while he didn't have the turn-of-foot of Wymark, he continued to whack away in second.

Major Beel won last year's Australian Derby after a runner-up finish seven days prior in the Tulloch Stakes and with 2400m likely to suit now, Noisy Boy has to be among the chances.

2024 Australian Derby Field & Odds

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Odds
1	Riff Rocket	Chris Waller	James McDonald	10	56.5kg	$2.90
2	Tom Kitten	James Cummings	Adam Hyeronimus	3	56.5kg	$7.50
3	Ceolwulf (NZ)	Joseph Pride	Blake Shinn	5	56.5kg	$10
4	Cap Ferrat	Chris Waller	Nash Rawiller	7	56.5kg	$16
5	Ganbare	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	1	56.5kg	$17
6	Immediacy (NZ)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Luke Currie	13	56.5kg	$13
7	Wymark (NZ)	Michael Freedman	Tommy Berry	14	56.5kg	$9
8	Noisy Boy	Todd Howlett	Jay Ford	8	56.5kg	$34
9	Glad You Think So	John Sargent	Rachel King	4	56.5kg	$61
10	Adagio	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Regan Bayliss	11	56.5kg	$101
11	Zenmaster	Craig Carmody	Chad Schofield	9	56.5kg	$201
12	Hooligan Tommy (NZ)	John Sargent	Jason Collett	12	56.5kg	$201
13	Saxon Brave	Daiki Chujo	Joshua Parr	6	56.5kg	$201
14	Zardozi	James Cummings	Jamie Kah	2	54.5kg	$3.90