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The Australian Derby is a classic Group 1 race for three-year-olds. Held on the first Saturday in April* during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival, the race takes place at Royal Randwick Racecourse on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’. This is a classic Derby, raced over a distance of 2400 metres (a mile and a half) and offers $2 million in total prize money.

*In 2021 the Australian Derby ran on the second Saturday of April with all race meetings of the autumn in Sydney from Slipper Day onwards postponed a week due to the weather.

The Australian Derby prizemoney for 2020 was reduced to $1 million to help cope with the financial stress on the industry brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but was back to $2 million in 2021.

As a set weights race, colts and geldings must carry 56.5kg and fillies must carry 54.5kg. The ATC Australian Derby is regarded as a prestigious event and attracts some of the greatest emerging stayers from around the country.

Run on Doncaster Mile Day the Australian Derby is one of four Group 1 races on the card along with the: $3 million Doncaster Mile (1600m), $2.5 million TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) and the $1 million ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m).

Following a run in the ATC Derby some of the better young stayers may head to Adelaide in May for the Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) with Explosive Jack (2021) the last to do the interstate Derby double.

The 2022 Australia Derby ran on Saturday April 2, 2022 and saw the Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Hitotsu ($3.30F) make history winning the event fresh off his Australian Guineas victory over a mile in Melbourne. 

Australian Derby 2022
Date:	Saturday April 2, 2022
Track:	Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	2400m
Race Type:	3YO Set Weights
Status:	Group 1
Prize Money:	$2,000,000

The key lead up races for the Australian Derby are the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) held two weeks earlier and the Group 2 Tulloch Stakes (2000m) held one week before at Rosehill Gardens.

The Rosehill Guineas – Australian Derby double has recently been achieved by the likes of It’s A Dundeel (2013) and Criterion (2014).

The Tulloch Stakes – Australian Derby was achieved four times in as many years by: Jon Snow (2017), Levendi (2018), Angel Of Truth (2019) and Quick Thinker (2020).

2022 Australian Derby Results

• 1st: #1 Hitotsu ($3.30F)
• 2nd: #15 Benaud
• 3rd: #2 Alegron

The Ciaron Maher & David Eustace-trained Hitotsu ($3.30F) became the first horse since Mahogany (1993-94) to complete the VRC Derby – Australian Derby double, the last start Australian Guineas winner over a mile fighting off the challenges and overcoming interference on the straight to salute for the punters.

Click here to read more by the gutsy win for the punters by Hitotsu in the 2022 ATC Derby results.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	1	HITOTSU	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen		4	56.5kg		$3.30F
	2	15	BENAUD	John O’Shea	Brenton Avdulla	0.36L	16	56.5kg		$13
	3	2	ALEGRON	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	0.75L	3	56.5kg		$11
	4	13	ZOUMON	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	8.94L	5	56.5kg		$81
	5	17	SEA TREASURES (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Ms Rachel King	9.98L	15	56.5kg		$51
	6	11	RAGING BULL	David Payne	Craig Williams	11.41L	13	56.5kg		$31
	7	10	MAURICE’S MEDAD	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	11.84L	14	56.5kg		$51
	8	7	WAR ETERNAL (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Damian Lane	13.02L	8	56.5kg		$14
	9	4	CASTLEREAGH KID	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Nash Rawiller	15L	11	56.5kg		$18
	10	5	REGAL LION (NZ)	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	James McDonald	16.08L	9	56.5kg		$5
	11	14	CLYDE	Gary Portelli	Shaun Guymer	16.57L	7	56.5kg		$101
	12	8	CHARACTER	James Cummings	Tommy Berry	17.39L	10	56.5kg		$11
	13	3	FORGOT YOU (NZ)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Mark Zahra	20.91L	12	56.5kg		$15
	14	16	FOOTLIGHTS (NZ)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	William Pike	22.04L	2	56.5kg		$41
	15	6	WHITE NOISE (NZ)	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	Robbie Dolan	24.38L	18	56.5kg		$41
	16	12	ELZAMEE	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Chad Schofield	25.15L	1	56.5kg		$31
	17	9	CAN’T GO WONG (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Jamie Kah	26.32L	6	56.5kg		$26
	18	18	AKAHATA (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Brock Ryan	39.45L	17	56.5kg		$201
		21e	LUKEY LUKE	Gwenda Markwell	Keagan Latham		0
		20e	MEDIARO	Matthew Smith	Jay Ford		0
		19e	ASTERNISHING	Mick Bell	Dean Holland		0

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2022 Australian Derby Betting Odds

Over the autumn the all-in and final field Australian Derby 2022 betting odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au complete with market links to the Group 1 staying clash will be available below.

Hitotsu ($3.30 in 2022) is the last favourite in Australian Derby betting to win.

2022 Australian Derby Tips

Stay tuned for our insider Australian Derby 2022 tips and best bets to be published below during race week.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL 2022 AUSTRALIAN DERBY BETTING TIPS

The Favourite: #1 Hitotsu ($3.80 At Time Of Publish) 

The last three-year-old to do the Victoria Derby/Australian Derby double was Mahogony (1994) so it takes a pretty good horse to do it. This is a pretty good horse right here. He looked in top form fresh in the Guineas over the mile at headquarters and has been set for this mile and a half feature. He has the class to win and comes via the same formula they adopted in the spring. The only queries are Randwick in the wet. History is there to be made, but the weather gods might just have a say yet. EACH WAY.

Best Bet: #5 Regal Lion ($5.50 At Time Of Publish) 

Was value earlier in the week but Regal Lion has been absolutely smashed and is into $5.50 second favouritism. This Kiwi raider was good at home across the Tasman on March 5 when two lengths third in the NZ Derby over this distance as a 40/1 shot. That was on a Good track. He debuted down under on Monday in the rescheduled Tulloch Stakes over 1850m at Newcastle and was eye-catching, flashing late to cross a length back second to Character. He’s on the quick back-up and will relish the mile and a half. Again, that really Heavy track is a query. He has never been on anything worse than Soft but is from the right stable with co-trainer Murray Baker chasing his sixth Australian Derby victory. BACK DON’T SACK.

Best Roughie: #7 War Eternal ($21 At Time Of Publish) 

Value to be had outside the dominant hopes and War Eternal looks a horse forgotten in this year’s ATC Derby. Bjorn Baker’s nicely-bred Pierro colt has wet track form and is the progressive runner in the mix. Improving each run and form around Converge / Anamoe when fourth in the Randwick Guineas on a Heavy (9) two back. Those are good horses. Comes via a third in Moonee Valley’s Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m) and will appreciate a wet track in Sydney. Hasn’t won over further than 1400m though so the distance is the question. If he runs it out, he can surprise a few of these. PLACE CHANCE.

*All odds quoted are provided by Ladbrokes.com.au, correct at time of print and subject to change.

2022 Australian Derby Field

The Australian Derby field attracts a line-up of the season’s best three-year-old stayers. The majority of the horses that run in the ATC Derby field are colts and geldings, with the fillies generally running the following weekend in the Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400m) against their own kind.

The official 2022 Australian Derby field and barriers are set to be released by Racing NSW on Tuesday March 29, 2021 and will be published in full below.

Historical VRC Derby – Australian Guineas double winner Hitotsu drawn ideally in barrier four dominates a capacity Australian Derby 2022 final field and betting markets on the three-year-olds’ staying showdown this Saturday in Sydney.

Click here to read more on the key runners in the 2022 Australian Derby field and betting markets.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Probable Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	706x151x1	HITOTSU	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	John Allen	4	56.5kg			110
2	5x15432x80	ALEGRON	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	3	56.5kg			93
3	311615×443	FORGOT YOU (NZ)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	Mark Zahra	13	56.5kg			92
4	22×1116	CASTLEREAGH KID	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Nash Rawiller	12	56.5kg			86
5	x443155732	REGAL LION (NZ)	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	James McDonald	10	56.5kg			88
6	3116161477	WHITE NOISE (NZ)	Murray Baker & Andrew Forsman	Robbie Dolan	21	56.5kg			84
7	1x792x7143	WAR ETERNAL (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Damian Lane	9	56.5kg			83
8	241428×131	CHARACTER	James Cummings	Tommy Berry	11	56.5kg			90
9	11492	CAN’T GO WONG (NZ)	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Ms Jamie Kah	6	56.5kg			80
10	26x47x4583	MAURICE’S MEDAD	Bjorn Baker	Joshua Parr	16	56.5kg			80
11	33x5164x86	RAGING BULL	David Payne	Craig Williams	15	56.5kg			80
12	17254	ELZAMEE	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Chad Schofield	1	56.5kg			72
13	1417×3168	ZOUMON	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	5	56.5kg			72
14	14019×6716	CLYDE	Gary Portelli	Shaun Guymer	8	56.5kg			67
15	135×6254	BENAUD	John O’Shea	Brenton Avdulla	19	56.5kg			74
16	1200×501	FOOTLIGHTS (NZ)	Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young	William Pike	2	56.5kg			64
17	514×63921	SEA TREASURES (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Ms Rachel King	17	56.5kg			63
18	430×644186	AKAHATA (NZ)	Bjorn Baker	Brock Ryan	20	56.5kg			62
19e	037721×374	ASTERNISHING	Mick Bell	Dean Holland	18	56.5kg			57
20e	2145	MEDIARO	Matthew Smith	Jay Ford	14	56.5kg			60
21e	3×51	LUKEY LUKE	Gwenda Markwell	Keagan Latham	7	56.5kg			60

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2022 Australian Derby First Acceptances

About a month out from the race the Australian Derby first acceptances are taken by Racing NSW narrowing down the list of potential young stayers set to contest the Doncaster Mile Day showdown.

The official 2022 Australian Derby First Acceptances close on Tuesday March 8, 2022.

2022 Australian Derby Nominations

Like all of the Group 1 races run at Randwick Racecourse on Doncaster Mile Day, the Australian Derby nominations close in early February around two months before the race takes place and often attract over 100 early entries.

The 2022 Australian Derby nominations close at midday on Tuesday the 8th of February, 2022. 

The Australian Derby 2022 nominations attracted 141 three-year-old stayers including the spring’s Victoria Derby champion Hitotsu and Richard Litt’s Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Profondo.

Australian Derby History

With names such as Phar Lap, Tulloch and Kingstown Town included in the list of race winners, it’s little wonder why this race is so highly regarded in the industry. First won by Kyogle in 1861, the event was titled the Randwick Derby Stakes. In 1865, it was changed to the Australian Derby Stakes and in 1994 it was given its current name.

The Derby was originally run over 1 1/2 miles however was changed in 1972 to 2400m to conform to the metric system. Between 1932 and 1956 geldings were banned from competing in the race.

The 2020 Australian Derby results saw Quick Thinker become the fourth horse in as many years to do the Tulloch Stakes – ATC Derby double. The Kiwi also handed co-trainer Murray Baker with his fifth win in the classic.

In 2022 Hitotsu made history as the first horse since Mahogany (1993-94) to win the Victoria derby – Australian Derby interstate double. He also became the first Australian Guineas winner to back up and win the Australian Derby without a run in between.

See below for the full Australian Derby results going back to 2000.

Australian Derby Records
Time Record:	2:28.41 – Octagonal (1996)
Largest Winning Margin:	10 Lengths – Trident (1886)
Most wins by a Jockey:	6 Wins – Thomas Hales (1875, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1886, 1887)

Recent Australian Derby Winners

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2022 Australian Derby	1st	Hitotsu	2 minutes 39.39 seconds
	2nd	Benaud
	3rd	Alegron
2021 Australian Derby	1st	Explosive Jack	2 minutes 34.13 seconds
	2nd	Young Werther
	3rd	Lion’s Roar
2020 Australian Derby	1st	Quick Thinker	2 minutes 34.24 seconds
	2nd	Zebrowski
	3rd	Eric The Eel
2019 Australian Derby	1st	Angel Of Truth	2 minutes 35.67 seconds
	2nd	Madison County
	3rd	Surely Sacred
2018 Australian Derby	1st	Levendi	2 minutes 28.73 seconds
	2nd	Ace High
	3rd	Tangled
2017 Australian Derby	1st	Jon Snow	2 minutes 38.18 seconds
	2nd	Harper’s Choice
	3rd	Hardham
2016 Australian Derby	1st	Tavago	2 minutes 33.6 seconds
	2nd	Jameka
	3rd	Tally
2015 Australian Derby	1st	Mongolian Khan	2 minutes 37.10 seconds
	2nd	Hauraki
	3rd	Volkstok’n’barrell
2014 Australian Derby	1st	Criterion	2 minutes 38.49 seconds
	2nd	Tupac Amaru
	3rd	Hooked
2013 Australian Derby	1st	It’s A Dundeel	2 minutes 33.49 seconds
	2nd	Philippi
	3rd	Kingdoms
2012 Australian Derby	1st	Ethiopia	2 minutes 28.7 seconds
	2nd	Polish Knight
	3rd	Laser Hawk
2011 Australian Derby	1st	Shamrocker	2 minutes 29.4 seconds
	2nd	Retrieve
	3rd	Anacheeva
2010 Australian Derby	1st	Shoot Out	2 minutes 32.68 seconds
	2nd	Descarado
	3rd	Monaco Consul
2009 Australian Derby	1st	Roman Emperor	2 minutes 31 seconds
	2nd	Harris Tweed
	3rd	Predatory Pricer
2008 Australian Derby	1st	Nom De Jeu	2 minutes 36.2 seconds
	2nd	Red Ruler
	3rd	Littorio
2007 Australian Derby	1st	Flumicino	2 minutes 36.4 seconds
	2nd	Ambitious General
	3rd	Tuesday Joy
2006 Australian Derby	1st	Headturner	2 minutes 29.9 seconds
	2nd	De Beers
	3rd	Testafiable
2005 Australian Derby	1st	Eremein	2 minutes 35.8 seconds
	2nd	Stella Grande
	3rd	Railings
2004 Australian Derby	1st	Starcraft	2 minutes 34.8 seconds
	2nd	Braeloch
	3rd	Delzao
2003 Australian Derby	1st	Clangalang	2 minutes 32.3 seconds
	2nd	Strasbourg
	3rd	Mummify
2002 Australian Derby	1st	Don Eduardo	2 minutes 32.7 seconds
	2nd	Carnegie Express
	3rd	Pentastic
2001 Australian Derby	1st	Universal Prince	2 minutes 30.8 seconds
	2nd	Sir Clive
	3rd	Danamite
2000 Australian Derby	1st	Fairway	2 minutes 34 seconds
	2nd	Shogun Lodge
	3rd	Now Voyager