Chris Waller has produced the quinella in the Queensland Derby with two of his six runners battling out the finish.
Two of the country’s best jockeys have fought out a thrilling finish to the Group 1 Queensland Derby with James Mcdonald on Kukeracha knocking off Hugh Bowman on Senor Toba to capture his first win in the classic.
McDonald wasn’t certain he had got the decision as the riders desperately drove their mounts to the line but in a head-bobbing tussle, it was Kukeracha who landed the knockout blow.
The result gave Chris Waller the quinella in the 2400m feature and McDonald was left counting his lucky stars that the premier trainer chose his mount for him, admitting he would have opted for the runner-up.
“Chris makes the decisions and I was lucky enough to be on the right horse today,” McDonald said.
“They say jockeys are the worse decision makers so I’m glad I don’t have that choice.
“He’s just a good horse. He deserved it.
“I probably should have waited a little longer at the top of the straight because I got into a little bit of trouble, but he was the right horse to get me out of it. He’s got a great turn of foot.”
Waller praised the efforts of both McDonald and Bowman, who both gave their mounts beautiful rides and said the latter was unlucky after having to overcome the widest draw in barrier 18.
“It was a tough barrier draw for the stable. James had the best draw (two) so we won’t give him as much credit but for Hugh to be able to slot in and get in where he did was a special ride,” Waller said.
Kukeracha showed promise as a juvenile but after his form began to taper off the decision was made to geld him.
The three-year-old had placed at his two lead up runs in Queensland and Waller felt his familiarity with the Eagle Farm track contributed to his success.
“We had a great opinion of him as a two-year-old and he lost his way a little bit. It’s a typical story, he was gelded and just taken through the system,” Waller said.
“He ran a good race up here in the Grand Prix in the summer. I just wanted to give him some experience on the track, it wasn’t racing that well then, but I think maybe that’s been a good move because his run in the Queensland Guineas was good, last start his run in the Rough Habit was good and today was brilliant.”
It was Waller’s second Queensland Derby after winning in 2013 with Hawkspur.
Explosive Jack started a $2.50 Ladbrokes favourite and was chasing his fourth Derby after claiming the Tasmanian, Australian and South Australian versions but he couldn’t match the Waller pair over the final stages and finished third.
Article from JustHorseRacing.com.au