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Two three-year-olds are currently battling for top spot in Australian Derby 2025 betting this weekend at Randwick with New Zealand raider Willydoit narrow favourite ahead of class filly Aeliana who is looking to beat home the boys in The Championships Day 1 staying showdown.

Four elite level features will be run and won in Sydney on Saturday including the Group 1 $2 million Australian Derby (2400m) for the young stayers.

Current top elect in the Australian Derby odds on the final field through Ladbrokes.com.au is the visiting Kiwi galloper Willydoit at $3.90 and firming for Shaun Clotworthy.

The ultra-consistent Tarzino gelding travels across the Tasman having won four of his six starts at home including his last start 2.3 length romp home from a wide alley in the Group 1 New Zealand Derby (2400m).

Mongolian Khan (2015) was the last three-year-old to complete the NZ Derby / ATC Derby double that Willydoit attempts to finish this weekend.

The New Zealand form lines have been strong ones to follow into the Australian Derby in recent years.

Six of the last 16 Australian Derby winners have hailed from across the Tasman with including five for Murray Baker, most recently Quick Thinker in 2020 who he trained in partnership with Andrew Forsman.

Willydoit jumps from barrier 10 and will be ridden by the flying Michael Dee who was over in New Zealand aboard the galloper for his lead-up Derby triumph.

Aeliana is considered the most likely to stop Willydoit from taking the Australian Derby trophy to New Zealand with Chris Waller‘s Castelvecchio filly also running well of late.

After opening at $3.60 favouritism she has eased out slightly to $3.90 to become the first ATC Derby winning filly since Shamrocker (2011).

Damian Lane, who rode Jon Snow to victory in the event back in 2017, comes aboard Aeliana for her big test in place of Jason Collett on the weekend.

The filly is after her first win since the Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes at Flemington on Derby Day last year but has more than held her own this prep running top four in all three lead-ups.

Fresh she was third only a length away in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes before a Group 1 Randwick Guineas fourth to Linebacker and then third last start in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas just a nose off Broadsiding in an ideal Derby lead-up.

Despite a capacity Australian Derby field just one other runner is currently under double figures for the win with Ciaron Maher‘s soaring Shanwah.

A son of sire of the moment, Too Darn Hot, Shanwah has proved to be a summer-autumn sensation for the stable winning four on the trot leading up to Saturday’s feature.

He is rock hard fit now and full of confidence coming off back-to-back Group 2 wins in Melbourne, the latest of which had him putting an easy two lengths on the next best in the Alister Clark Stakes (2040m) at The Valley.

Outside of the dominant trio other notable ATC Derby contenders this year include the rails-drawn Tivaci gelding King Of Thunder ($10) on the quick back-up off a Group 2 Tulloch Stakes third on Tuesday, the spring’s VRC Derby champ Goldrush Guru ($11) out to atone for his seventh in the Rosehill Guineas, and the Glen Thompson trained Plymouth ($12) coming off a fourth in that same key lead-up.

For value, Pocketing ($26) and Firm Agreement ($18) also on the super short turnaround having run one-two respectively in Tuesday’s rescheduled Tulloch Stakes on a Heavy (8) track could fire again.

The 2025 ATC Australian Derby is scheduled as Randwick Race 9 at 5:15pm (AEDT) as the penultimate event on Saturday’s Sydney race card.

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