There might be a further late New Zealand entrant for the $1.5m Group 1 David Jones Australian Derby at Randwick on April 14 to accompany Ocean Park with the Murray Baker trained Malandrino also under consideration as a late entry.
Baker is considering running Malandrino after the Darci Brahma gelding won the Group 3 Higgins Manawatu Classic (2000m) at Awapuni on Saturday. Malandrino was ridden by leading New Zealand jockey James McDonald to a clear 2.5L win.
McDonald said after the race that he thought Malandrino was special and had the capacity to reach the top level of racing. The win was Malandrino's third from seven starts and he has placed twice for stakes of NZ$55,000.
Baker is no stranger to bringing across serious Derby competitors, winning the race in 2008 with Nom du Jeu and coming second with Harris Tweed in 2009. Both were by the now deceased sire Montjeu who passed away late last week at Coolmore in Ireland.
The late entry for the Australian Derby is $40,000, which includes the acceptance fee, which is due on Tuesday April 10th.
