Derby Prospects Stake Their Claim At Caulfield

The G1 South Australian Derby came firmly into Godolphin calculations through the dominant victories of Tarquin and Unbreakable at Caulfield on Saturday, April 30.

Both three-year-olds came to the meeting with classic intentions, and both will go to Adelaide for the Derby in two weeks with outstanding prospects.

On a day when Godolphin's Australian team rang up five successes across the country, Tarquin (John O'Shea/Craig Williams) made his Derby claim with a defeat of older horses in the non-graded Next Payments Handicap.

Craig Williams had the son of Hard Spun perfectly positioned from the jump making his move with 400m to run, joining the lead at the 200m mark and asserting his superiority in the final stages to win in imposing style by a length-and-three-quarters.

"He had to do a bit of work, so he's done a really good job to beat those older horses," Williams said.

The stable's Melbourne representative David Charles echoed those thoughts: "I think the most impressive part of his race was the last 100 metres where he was very strong."

"He needed to come through the race well today to give us the confidence to head forward towards the South Australian Derby."

Unbreakable (John O'Shea/Craig Williams) made sure the stable would have at least two SA Derby runners with his all-the-way win in the Sky High Mt Dandenong Handicap.

"I was told to take the bull by the horns if I had to, and that's what we did," Williams said.

"That was a very good Derby trial, he simply outstayed them."

Also at Caulfield, Antelucan (John O'Shea/Craig Williams) scored impressively in the Jensen Funerals Plate while at Hawkesbury, Furnaces showed a return to the form that made him a stakes-winning two-year-old with his win in the Gold Rush Stakes.

At Newcastle the Domesday filly Distraught added to the tally with a restricted class victory.