With three wins in the past four years the New Zealanders have dominated one of the key races held during Sydney’s The Championships and the Kiwis are out in force again in the Australian Derby 2017 nominations.

James Cummings’ Victoria Derby winner Prized Icon is nominated for the 2017 Australian Derby in Sydney this April. Photo: Steve Hart.

Early entries closed for all 10 features races run over the first two Saturdays in April at Royal Randwick Racecourse this week including those for the $2 million Group 1 BMW Australian Derby (2400m).

Australian Derby nominations drew 133 hopeful three-year-old stayers including a large contingent of New Zealand-trained youngsters.

Three of the past four editions of the ATC Derby have been stolen by gallopers from across the Tasman with It’s A Dundeel (2013), Mongolian Khan (2015) and Tavago (2016) last Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

Cambridge horseman Murray Baker prepared both It’s A Dundeel and subsequent Caulfield Cup champion Mongolian Khan for their respective Australian Derby wins.

He also won the race for the first time back in 2008 with Nom Du Jeu and is in with six entries in 2017 that he prepares in partnership with Andrew Forsman.

The Baker & Forsman-trained Australian Derby nominees are: undefeated Shocking gelding Camino Rocoso; a Group 1 performer down under Highlad; recent Group 1 Levin Classic third-placed Iffraaj colt John Snow; smart Savabeel filly Nicoletta; and the unraced duo of Mongolian Legend and Mongolian Wolf.

Last year’s Australian Derby winning trainer Trent Busuttin is now based at Cranbourne in Victoria and trains in partnership with Natalie Young.

He returns this season with four entries led by Fastnet Rock colt Anaheim who won an 1800m black-type Flemington feature during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.

The other Busuttin & Young-trained hopes are Cape Blanco filly Ceylon, Positive Carry and the promising Redwood gelding Rising Red.

Last year’s Victoria Derby trifecta are also nominated for the Sydney edition in the autumn with Prized Icon (1^st), Sacred Elixir (2^nd) and Inference (3^rd) shaping-up as big ATC Derby hopes.

James Cummings prepares More Than Ready colt Prized Icon who won the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) by a runaway two and a half lengths in his first turf triumph since the Group 1 Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick in mid-April last year.

The Tony Pike-trained Sacred Elixir is yet another dominant Kiwi in the mix, the Pour Moi gelding having won the Group 2 Moonee Valley Vase (2040m) before his Victoria Derby second in the spring.

As a two-year-old he won Brisbane’s Group 1 JJ Atkins (1600m), but as yet Sacred Elixir hasn’t raced in Sydney.

Pike has also nominated his lightly-raced High Chaparral gelding Sacred Way whose sole start to date was a 1400m win on debut at home in late January.

Inference is one of four Hawkes Racing-trained Australian Derby nominations this season.

The consistent son of So You Think ran third in the Victoria derby after a strong campaign that saw him progress nicely through the grades, Inference another yet to run in Sydney.

Eleven fillies are among the ATC Derby 2017 nominations, with the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) run the weekend after the more likely final goal for the likes of Crown Oaks winner Lasqueti Spirit A and runner-up in that Cup Carnival classic Harlow Gold.

Other standout nominees include the highly-spruiked Chris Waller-trained Comin’ Through, Caulfield Guineas winner Divine Prophet for Team Hawkes and the Gai Waterhouse-trained Northwest Passage who completed the Hobart Guineas – Tasmanian Derby double this summer.

The Australian Derby first acceptances are open until Tuesday March 7, 2017.

View the full 2017 Australian Derby Nominations below then head to Ladbrokes.com.au for access to the season’s top racing odds and offers.

2017 ATC Derby Nominations

Royal Randwick Racecourse – 01/04/2017