2016 Victoria Derby Odds: Sacred Elixir Firm Favourite

Sacred Elixir has been crushed into pre-field Victoria Derby 2016 odds of $3.40 after his Cox Plate Day win in the Moonee Valley Vase last Saturday.

MV Vase winner Sacred Elixir is firm favourite in 2016 Victoria Derby betting to win again this weekend at Flemington Racecourse. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Officially 37 three-year-old staying types remain in contention to line-up in this weekend’s $1.5 million Group 1 AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington Racecourse on the opening day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

Hot favourite in the all-in Victoria Derby betting markets at Ladbrokes.com.au is the Tony Pike-trained Pour Moi gelding from New Zealand Sacred Elixir.

He chases a second Group 1 win after taking out Brisbane’s JJ Atkins (1600m) in the winter, and his third from four starts this campaign.

Sacred Elixir will be racing on successive Saturdays after his Moonee Valley Vase win over 2040m last weekend, a race that has produced two of the past six Victoria Derby winners.

The last horse complete the Moonee Valley Vase – VRC Derby double however was Efficient (2006) giving Sacred Elixir a 10 year hoodoo to overcome.

The bookmakers are unconcerned shortening his futures price for the win this weekend where if successful he will join Sangster (2011) and Lion Tamer (2010) as the most recent New Zealand-trained VRC Derby winners.

Favourites have a poor recent record in the Victoria Derby results with Tarzino (2015) last year the first to salute for the punters since the aforementioned Efficient a decade ago.

Horse Racing Tip Just two favourites in the past 10 years have saluted for the punters in the VRC Derby

The two Moonee Valley Vase placegetters Morvada (2^nd) and So Si Bon (3^rd) are very different prices in the updated Victoria Derby markets meanwhile to turn the tables on their last start conqueror.

Consistent Mossman gelding Morvada is at a juicy $17 to hand Adelaide horseman Peter Jolly his first win with his first runner in the classic if accepted at final declaration stage on Wednesday.

Morvada backed up from a host of top three runs back home in South Australia to run a half-length second in the Vase in his Melbourne debut, while the Robbie Laing-trained So Si Bon was a further one and a quarter-lengths back in third.

So You Think colt So Si Bon ($8) is rated a far better chance to handle the step-up in class and distance in the Derby this weekend however, especially if he gets firmer going at Flemington.

Laing has already forgiven the galloper the luckless Vase run and has three-time Victoria Derby winning hoop Hugh Bowman booked for the Group 1 run this weekend.

Also at $8 in the current Victoria Derby odds is Inference for Team Hawkes, another So You Think colt coming off a key lead-up race.

Recent Victoria Derby history shows two wines since 2011 had their lead-up run at Caulfield in the Group 3 Norman Robinson Stakes (2011) – a race Inference finished third behind Good Standing in last time out.

Co-trainer John Hawkes prepared the 1998 Victoria Derby winner Arena and Inference is his best shot at a second trophy along with Redoute’s Choice colt Swear ($13).

Swear was last seen running second to Yankee Rose in the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on October 8.

That form was franked last weekend when the filly Yankee Rose finished third in the Cox Plate Trifecta behind Winx and Hartnell.

Monaco Consul (2009) was the last Spring Champion graduate to back-up and take out the Derby when completing the interstate double seven years ago.

James Cummings’ Norman Robinson Stakes winning Artie Schiller colt Good Standing ($9) and Mick Price’s runner-up in the same lead-up Rocketeer ($9) are the other current single-figure Victoria Derby chances.

Good Standing chases the Norman Robinson – Derby double last achieved by Polanski (2013), while Smart Missile gelding Rocketeer is out to end a four straight run of second place efforts in Melbourne.

Price prepared last year’s Victoria Derby winner Tarzino and if successful with Rocketeer this year will be the first back-to-back winning trainer in the race in over 30 years.

See below for the latest Victoria Derby 2016 betting odds, markets set to firm into Fixed Win pricing when the field is released on Wednesday morning via Ladbrokes.com.au.