A soft Randwick track will suit the Lindsay Park trained Derryn when he resumes for the 2018 Autumn Carnival in the Group 1 $500,000 Bisley Workwear Canterbury Stakes (1300m) on Saturday.

Derryn, above, will appreciate the soft track at Randwick for the Canterbury Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart.

Derryn, above, will appreciate the soft track at Randwick for the Canterbury Stakes. Photo by Steve Hart.

Derryn will be having his first run back since finishing eighth to Crystal Dreamer in the Listed $120,000 Clanbrooke Racing Doveton Stakes (1000m) on the Hillside track at Sandown at the end of the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival.

Derryn is the winner of three races form seventeen starts but hasn’t visited the winner’s stall since taking out the Group 2 $600,000 Arrowfield 3yo Sprint (1200m) at Randwick almost twelve months ago during the 2017 The Championships on a Soft 7 track.

Even though Derryn has won on a good surface as well as a rain affected track, Lindsay Park head trainer David Hayes considers the Hinchinbrook four year old to be at his best on soft ground.

The track rating for the Canterbury Stakes meeting at Randwick has been rated a Soft 5 on Friday morning which will suit Derryn.

“We sent him up there because there has been a bit of rain in Sydney earlier in the week and I think 1300m is probably his ideal distance,” Hayes said.

Hayes said that he will be instructing jockey Josh Parr to ride Derryn quietly from barrier seven in the nine horse field and let him do his best work at the finish.

“He will be ridden patiently and produced late,” Hayes said.

The Lindsay Park Team of David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig will also saddle up their smart filly Tulip in the Canterbury Stakes.

Jason Collett rides Tulip and Hayes can see the Pierro filly getting a nice run from barrier two.

“I can see her getting a beautiful run from this gate,” Hayes said.

“In form. She ran her career best race at Randwick in The Everest and I really feel that she will be competitive.”

Tulip was only beaten two and a half lengths when fifth to Redzel in the $10m The Everest (1200m) at Randwick in October last year and the filly heads back to Sydney after beating the fillies in the Group 3 $150,000 Carazzo Consulting Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m) at The Valley on February 23.

Tulip is the better fancied of the two Lindsay Park runners in the betting at Ladbrokes.com.au and is marked at $10 while Derryn is the outsider of the Canterbury Stakes field at $26.

The Kris Lees trained Clearly Innocent heads the betting at $4.80 just ahead of Epsom Handicap winner Happy Clapper at $5.50 and Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott’s Group 1 winning mare Global Glamour at $6.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.