The title of Australasia’s best three-year-old is still up for grabs with all eight of the Group 1 three-year-old staying classics, here and across the Tasman (2400m-2500m) so far going to a different racehorse.
Just over two weeks ago William Pike piloted three-year-old filly Arcadia Dream to an exciting victory in the West Australian Derby to make it three consecutive wins for him in the three-year-old classic. It gave trainer Grant Williams and prolific winning owner Bob Peters (Pink with White Crossbelts Silks) a combined five of the last six winners of the race, although Peters took his total tally to an even more impressive eight victories overall.
Instantly it brought back memories of last year’s (now retired) winning filly Delicacy, and what she was able to achiever thereafter by winning the Australasian Oaks and South Australian Derby at Morphettville. Bob Peters has announced that Arcadia Dream will follow the same path as that filly to the South Australian Derby, and at face value she looks to be just as good a chance.
The favourite in the WA Derby was Kia Ora Kouto who had finished an unlucky and very respectable third to Tarzino in the VRC Derby last Spring, albeit beaten a long way. The fact that he was a well-beaten, four-length fourth in the WA version might augur well for the future prospects winner and runner-up (Who Dat Singa) who fought out a stirring duel over the last 100m.
In hindsight the win should have been no surprise because the fillies have been dominating the colts since the early summer in Perth with Perfect Reflection (another of the Pike, Williams and Peters team) beating home the three-year-old Colts and older horses in the Kingston Classic last December.
She had previously relegated Arcadia Dream to the runners-up spot in a Group 3 Fillies race over 1600m.
Two weeks prior Arcadia Dream had been a hot favourite in the WA Oaks and had been beaten fairly and squarely by her stablemate First Impressions. She raced quite close to the pace though in a slowly run race and didn’t settle. First Impressions missed the Derby after a training set back, and ran poorly against the older horses a week later.
She should perhaps be forgiven for that run and she too is making the trek to Adelaide for the Australasian Oaks. In the WA Derby Arcadia Dream ran a 3.5 second faster time in comparison to that of Delicacy posted in the WA Oaks on a similar surface last year.
We can’t compare the two Derby times at all because Delicacy won her race on a Slow 6 Surface (seven seconds slower overall). It’s drawing a long bow to compare times in 2400m races because the speed/tempo can be so variable, but the time in the WA Derby does tell us that Arcadia Dream is a true stayer who can run out a strong 2400m, when the pace is on.
Comparing her to the more illustrious stablemate still looks a little premature. Just how dominant Delicacy might have been this Autumn and Spring is a tantalising question given how well Werther has perfomed since going to Hong Kong late last year.
She beat him home very comfortably in the SA Derby last year, where they filled the first two placings. After winning the Derby in Hong Kong at his prior start, Werther proved himself world class by annihilating a serious quality field in the QE11 cup by 4.5 lengths recently, and now has this year’s Cox Plate as a likely target.
Neither she, Arcadia Dream or First Impressions have the bloodlines to really suggest that they could be dominant over a staying trip, yet all three have won three-year-old classics over 2400m. They do breed them tough over in Western Australia though, and it’s just possible both these fillies can follow in her footsteps. The signs are good, and we will get a great guide to their SA Derby chances in the Australasian Oaks (2000m) at Morphettville on Saturday.
It will also be interesting to see if Kia Ora Kouto can improve substantially enough to make an impact in South Australia. He has the advantage of having travelled West before, and might still be on an upward spiral in regard to his fitness levels.
I’m not sure what the plan is for Who Dat Singa, but he was a little unlucky not to beat Arcadia Dream after he took off before the turn and sprinted clear in the straight, only to be run down in the concluding stages.
A more patient ride might have made a difference, but Arcadia Dream still had to produce a minor miracle to whittle down what looked to be a race winning margin.
There is plenty of good racing to look forward to in South Australia over the next couple of weeks, and the West Aussies look capable of providing a couple of the highlights, starting with the Oaks on Saturday. Both fillies have drawn wide (especially Arcadia Dream) but their prices are quite generous at $8 and $21 early Fixed Odds. It looks a very competitive field, and should be a cracker.
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