2021 Victoria Derby Day: Flemington Scratchings & Track Report

Flemington Racecourse is host to Day 1 of the coveted Melbourne Cup Carnival today, Saturday October 30, and below we take a look at the latest Victoria Derby Day 2021 scratchings and track report ahead of the first.

Gunstock (Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos) | Races.com.au

Gunstock in the 2021 VRC Derby is one of the headline horses on today’s Flemington race card. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Flemington Track Report – 30/10/2021

Victoria Racing Club

Rail: True Entire Circuit
Weather: Overcast
Dual Track Meeting: N
Track Type: Turf
Track Rating: Good 4
General Comment: Finalised 30/10 – 7:45am
Irrigation: nil last 24 hours, 17mm last 7 days
Rainfall: 2mm last 24 hours, 10.2mm last 7 days
Track Information: Inspection 6AM 30/10; Going Stick 9 Inside 9 Outside 8.9 Shear 11.4 Moisture 37.2%

The weather in Melbourne is for scattered showers across the afternoon but without any serious rainfall on the radar there is unlikely to be a downgrade to the current Good (4) Flemington track rating.

Flemington racing gets underway at 12:20pm (AEDT) with the Group 3 $500,000 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m) for three-year-olds the first of nine races and where the widely-drawn Gracilistyla (13) is the sole scratching.

It is an all-Group race card, Derby Day known as a day for racing purists, and the action is set to continue through until the mares do battle in the Group 3 $200,000 Furphy Sprint (1100m) at 5:50pm (AEDT) with five coming out leaving a field of 14 in the last.

Of course, by then all the attention will already have turned to Tuesday’s Group 1 $8 million Lexus Melbourne Cup (3200m) with the official 2021 Melbourne Cup Field and Barriers to be confirmed after the racing action on Derby Day.

The exact make-up of the Melbourne Cup field will become clearer following Flemington Race 2 at 1:00pm (AEDT) today with an eleventh-hour exemption on offer to the winner of the Group 3 Lexus Hotham Stakes (2500m).

The big news in the 2021 Lexus Stakes field is trainer Chris Waller opting to run Great House in the event, the horse currently 24th on the Melbourne Cup order of entry and able to be leap-frogged should any of the three other Cup entries in the event (Emissary, King’s Charisma or Mankayan) defeat him.

Race 3 at 1:40pm (AEDT) gives three-year-old fillies a final chance to make Thursday’s 2021 Kennedy Oaks line-up with the running of the Group 2 $300,000 Wakeful Stakes (2000m).

The sprinters face off at the famous Flemington ‘Straight Six’ in the Group 2 $300,000 Linlithgow Stakes (1200m) and the Godolphin-raced top weight Kementari (7) – racing in Sydney’s $1 million Winners Stakes instead – and Pandemic (3) have come out of Race 4 leaving a field of seven.

Punters are treated to four elite level races on Derby Day starting with Race 5 at 3:00pm (AEDT) with the fillies and mares running over the mile in the Group 1 $1 million Empire Rose Stakes (1600m).

The 2021 Empire Rose Stakes field features 14 of the 15 final acceptors with Stradbroke – Tatt’s Tiara double winner from the winter Tofane tipped to return to Group 1 winning form in an open race with the widely-draw Linda Meech mount Sirileo Miss (15) withdrawn on Friday afternoon.

The meeting’s marquee race follows with the season’s best three-year-old stayers racing for prestige and potential future stud value in the classic Group 1 $2 million Victoria Derby (2500m).

The 2021 Victoria Derby race and start time is scheduled as Flemington Race 6 at 3:45pm (AEDT) and the capacity field is led in betting at Ladbrokes.com.au by Caulfield Classic winner Gunstock drawn wide and last Saturday’s Vase champ at The Valley Forgot You.

The Group 1 action continues in Race 7 at 4:30pm (AEDT) with the three-year-old sprinters running in the $1.5 million Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and it is a boys’ only edition after Friday’s withdrawal of the sole filly accepted, Gimmie Par, who heads for a spell having been found to be slightly lame.

The updated 2021 Coolmore Stud Stakes betting markets have the Golden Rose winner out of Sydney In The Congo and the in-form local improver Extreme Warrior battling for favouritism.

The penultimate event on the card and the final elite level is the Group 1 $2 million Kennedy Cantala (1600m) jumping at 5:10pm (AEDT).

The 2021 Kennedy Cantala field is down to 14 starters field after the scratching of Lunar Fox (7) and Flash Aah (5), with betting dominated by Mr Brightside for Ben & JD Hayes.

See below for the complete 2021 Victoria Derby Day program, start times and latest Flemington race scratchings for Saturday’s Melbourne meeting before heading to Ladbrokes.com.au for all the best spring racing odds.