Death, taxes and the annual chat about whether the VRC Derby should be reduced to 2000m.
It seems they are the three certainties in life, at least in Melbourne each spring.
Like clockwork, the question is raised as, invariably, some horses that tackled the previous year’s staying classic for three-year-olds fail to train on as older horses.
Goldrush Guru is the case in point this spring. While he gave his backers hope in the autumn when he ran third in the G1 Australian Guineas, he ultimately hasn’t won a race since the Derby and has been poor in two runs this preparation.
But does this mean the Derby as we know it is done?
I don’t think so.
Of course, the relevance of the race has changed in recent decades. Many feature races have. Phar Lap, Tulloch, Tobin Bronze and Dulcify are but names on an honour roll from a time when the race was among the most coveted in the sport.
While I sense there is a shift back currently underway, we moved away from breeding for staying prowess in this country for several decades so it should come as no surprise that our staying ranks, particularly among young horses, have been thinner in recent times.
But lean years, in which the Derby heroes don’t go on to amount to much in the weight-for-age ranks, are not confined to recent history, just like any age-restricted race.
I don’t think reducing the distance of the Derby to 2000m will change this.
Some say horses aren’t ready to perform over 2500m so early in their career. There is no doubt this is the case and the beauty of the spring is that there are Group 1 options for them over 1600m and 2000m so they don’t need to race over a distance that their connections think will be detrimental to their long-term racing prospects.
There will always be young horses ready, willing and capable of performing over an extended trip in the spring of their three-year-old season. And there should always be a race that celebrates them.
Some of the recent winners of the race deserve a mention in the conversation about the best horses to ever win the race.
In 2023, Riff Rocket won the VRC Derby. He would go on to dominate the autumn and looked a genuine superstar in the making before his untimely demise.
It was a similar story with 2021 Derby winner Hitotsu, who won another two G1 races as a three-year-old before injury curtailed his racing career.
Efficient was brilliant in the 2006 Derby and trained on to become the best stayer of his generation, winning the Melbourne Cup and the Turnbull Stakes as an older horse.
Of the last 20 horses to win the VRC Derby, there are seven that never won another race, although a quick glance at their race records provides a bit more context.
Benicio never raced again, while Polanski only had one run after the Derby. Prized Icon and Monaco Consul were placed at G1 level on multiple occasions. Extra Brut was sold to Hong Kong.
We have become so conditioned in this country to think that a horse needs to win three, four or more Group 1 races to be considered worthy of adoration.
Why can’t we recognise a single performance of brilliance, rather than poke holes in how the form will stand up in time?
If Goldrush Guru never wins another race, so be it. His connections will always have the Derby trophy, they’ll always have the prizemoney and they’ll always have the stories to pass down about how, for two-and-a-half minutes, their horse was the best in the land.
