Bentley Australian Derby

(Group 1)

IN the space of three starts, the Maurice colt Hitotsu has won the Australian Guineas, bookended by the Victorian Derby and Saturday’s Australian Derby at Randwick.

He is the first horse since Mahogany in 1993/1994 to complete the two-state Derby double. In a stirring battle, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Hitotsu, the Reliable Man gelding Benaud and the Teofilo gelding Alegron, drew clear.

Johnny Allen on Hitotsu drove his charge between the pair as Alegron, veering out from the inside, threatened to ‘shut the gate’. Refusing to yield, Hitotsu kept finding to deny Benaud by a neck with Alegron hot on their heels.

“He just travelled well enough into it without ever really getting through the (wet) ground well. I gave him a squeeze around the corner and he picked up and hit the front a bit soon. Just his toughness, he just battled back and put them away again,” said Allen.

“It probably just woke him up a bit (the interference from Alegron) and made him fight because Brenton Avdulla (on Benaud) definitely headed me.”

Any temptation to run in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes was quickly quashed by Ciaron Maher. “No. We are fair to him, he is fair to us. We will get him ready for a Cox Plate now. As you can see he is still furnishing and we’ll take them on in the spring,” said Maher.

Fireburn no fluke in Sires’

Inglis Sires’ (Group 1)

IN circumstances very similar to her Golden Slipper win, though minus the interference, the Gary Portelli-trained Fireburn came from beyond midfield, along the rail, to become the first horse since Pierro in 2012 to complete the Group 1 Sires’ Produce/Golden Slipper double.

Fireburn, whose sire Rebel Dane will be relocated to Widden Stud for next season, pounced when Brendan Avdulla asked her for a final effort, just as She’s Extreme was building a winning advantage.

Drawing clear inside the final 100 metres to win by a length and a half from the Extreme Choice filly, third went to the Dundeel colt Let’srollthedice.

“What a filly. She just turns up week after week and she raises the bar,” said Portelli. “She was set a task in the Slipper and she proved herself. A few people were knocking her before the race today thinking it might have been a one-off thing, but they don’t do that in Slippers and still win.

“She’s got a big motor and these horses come around once in a lifetime. We’ve got the Winx Stand and hopefully one day we put the Fireburn stand beside it. She is a special horse.”

Having successfully negotiated the step-up to 1,400 metres, Fireburn will now be aimed at the 1,600 metres of the Champagne Stakes on April 24th, a tilt at a rare juvenile Triple Crown.

“If she pulls up alright she will go around,” said Portelli. “I’m not leaving a Group 1 on the table for a filly. If she was to win the Triple Crown, she is a special filly and she will be remembered forever.”