Victoria Derby: Tradition and triumph

The Group 1 Victoria Derby remains the ultimate test for three-year-old horses. Run over 2,500 metres, it attracts the finest staying three-year-olds of the spring. Initially held on Wednesdays and Fridays, and even on New Year’s Day in 1868 and 1869, the Derby eventually settled into its current Saturday slot in 1869, becoming the highlight of the opening day of the Flemington Spring Meeting.

Today, Howden Victoria Derby Day features three Group 1 races and serves as a showcase for racing purists, marking the beginning of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

The Victoria Derby distance has been set at 2,500 metres, slightly different from the original 12 furlongs designated for this blue riband event. This change was prompted by the transition to metric measurement in 1972 and the realisation in 1973 that the run to the first turn at Flemington was slightly short. Approximately 100 metres were added.

While colts mainly win the race, the first three runnings, dating back to 1855, were won by fillies: Rose of May (1855), Flying Doe (1856), and Tricolor (1857). The last filly to win the Derby was Frances Tressady in 1923.

Arguably the greatest three-year-old filly of all time, Briseis, won the 1876 Victoria Derby, beginning a stellar week that included winning the Oaks the following Thursday and running in the Melbourne Cup in between. Oh, and I forgot to mention she raced in the Doncaster Handicap as a two-year-old the previous autumn! She was truly an exceptional racehorse.

Since its inception on Wednesday, 7th November 1855, when eight runners contested the first race with a prize pool of 100 sovereigns plus sweepstakes of 10 sovereigns, the honour board has been graced by many legends.

Phar Lap (1929) is the most famous winner. 

Having won his Derby just weeks after claiming the AJC Derby, and Tulloch (1957), who started as the shortest-priced favourite at 1/10. Rebel Raider (2008) also won at astounding odds of 100/1.

Nevertheless, the supporting cast includes many formidable names: Chester (1877), Grand Flaneur (1880), Nordenfelt (1885), Wallace (1895), Newhaven (1896), Merriwee (1899), Malster (1900), Prince Foote (1909), Patrobas (1915), Richmond Main (1919), Manfred (1925), Hall Mark (1933), Skipton (1941), Comic Court (1948), Delta (1949), Sky High (1960), and Tobin Bronze (1965), covering the period before metric conversion in 1972.

Apart from the unlucky Carbine in 1888 and possibly Octagonal in 1995, most of the greats have graced the winner’s circle.

In the modern era, or since 1972, winners include Taj Rossi (1973), Dulcify (1978), Red Anchor (1984), Stylish Century (1989), Mahogany (1993), Nothin’ Leica Dane (1995), Elvstroem (2003), Efficient (2006), Hitotsu (2021), and the 2024 winner, Goldrush Guru.
For the record, 13 horses have achieved the Victoria Derby–Melbourne Cup double during their three-year-old season, starting with Lantern in 1864 (who uniquely won the Cup on the Thursday and the Derby the next day), and most recently Skipton in 1941. Nothin’ Leica Dane almost achieved this feat in 1995, finishing second in the Cup.

The race has produced many legendary winners. Yet, for this writer, two stand out for different reasons: Martini-Henry (1883) and Poseidon (1906), who share a fascinating historical connection.

Winning any race at your first start at a metropolitan track is impressive, but winning a Victoria Derby is truly exceptional. Martini-Henry, an exceptionally bred horse by Musket out of Sylvia (the 1867 VRC Oaks winner), achieved this feat in 1883.

To prove it was no fluke, he also won the Melbourne Cup three days later and added the Mares Produce Stakes a week after that.

In a strange twist, his grave was discovered beside a water tower at Bexley Station just outside Longreach, Queensland, in 2019, while on the Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour – though that is another story.

Poseidon, sired by Martini-Henry from a mare called Jacinth, is regarded as one of Australia’s most talented three-year-olds to race. He won the VRC and AJC Derbies, the VRC and AJC St Legers, and in 1906 captured the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups – the first horse to do so. He raised the benchmark high. He added another Caulfield Cup victory in 1907.

The Victoria Derby has seen two female jockey winners: Clare Lindop in 2008 riding Rebel Raider, and Jamie Melham in 2024 riding Goldrush Guru. It also saw Gai Waterhouse, a female trainer, triumph in 1995 with Nothin’ Leica Dane.

The legendary trainer James Scobie and jockey Bobbie Lewis each secured eight wins. Modern trainers like Bart Cummings have achieved five wins, and Tommy Smith, who joined William Filgate in the late 19th century, shares the same record. Jockey Damien Oliver has six wins in the race, equalling Phar Lap’s jockey Jim Pike, just behind the outstanding late 19th-century rider Tom Hales with seven wins.

Derbies are run worldwide, with the most renowned at Epsom Downs on the first Saturday in June in the United Kingdom. Its inaugural run was in 1780, 75 years before the Flemington race. While its influence on breeding is substantial and impactful in the northern hemisphere, its recognition remains widespread.

Simply put, a Derby is a Derby, wherever it might be held. And, the Victoria Derby is particularly special.