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The WATC Derby (Western Australia Turf Club Derby) is a Group 2 thoroughbred race at the Ascot Racecourse in Perth during the Perth Autumn Racing Carnival in April each year. Raced over the traditional derby distance of 2400m, it is an event for three-year-olds at set weights and is worth $400,000.

The WATC Derby was worth half a million dollars before being demoted from Group 1 status in 2011.

As Perth’s leading staying race for three-year-olds, the WATC Derby attracts a highly competitive field of quality runners, both locally and interstate. The WATC Derby – also known as the Western Australian Derby – was one of only three Group 1 races held at Perth; the others being the Railway Stakes (1600m) and the Kingston Town Classic (1800m), but was downgraded to a Group 2 status event so the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) could gain elite level status in 2011.

Regal Power (2019) and Western Empire (2021) are the last horses to complete the WATC Derby – Railway Stakes double in the same year.

Regal Power went on to frank the form in Melbourne the following autumn with a second in Flemington’s Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) and a win in the second edition of the $5 million The All-Star Mile (1600m).

Western Empire meanwhile backed-up from his 2021 Railway Stakes victory to place second in the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) behind Regal Power during an outstanding campaign.

As the highly prestigious Sydney Autumn Carnival is taking place around the same time in New South Wales, many of the top-line gallopers will be there contesting races like the Australian Derby and Australian Oaks. The WATC Derby winner, therefore, is usually an above average but not elite horse from a local Perth-based stable.

The WATC Derby 2023 ran on Saturday April 8, 2023 at Ascot Racecourse in Perth on the same day Sydney hosted the $5 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick and was won by the John O’Shea-trained Awesome John ($3.10). 

2023 WATC Derby
Date:	Saturday April 8, 2023
Track:	Ascot Racecourse
Distance:	2400m
Conditions:	Three-year-olds at Set Weights
Status:	Group 2
Prize Money:	$400,000
Inaugurated:	1888

2023 WATC Derby Results

• 1st: #3 Awesome John ($3.10)
• 2nd: #1 Another Chino
• 3rd: #5 She’s Fit

The John O’Shea-trained Awesome Rock gelding Awesome John ($3.10) franked the form out of Sydney heading west to salute in the 2023 WATC Derby results with a one-length win over the Dan Morton-trained stablemates Another Chino and WA Oaks winning filly She’s Fit.

	Finish	No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Bar.	Weight	Penalty	Starting Price
	1	3	AWESOME JOHN	John O’Shea	William Pike		7	56.5kg		$3.10
	2	1	ANOTHER CHINO	Daniel Morton	Brad Parnham	1.01L	2	56.5kg		$6
	3	5	SHE’S FIT	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	1.8L	1	54.5kg		$2.30F
	4	4	PLAYHOUSE PATRON	Bob McPherson	Joseph Azzopardi	6.03L	4	56.5kg		$12
	5	2	DEMOLISH	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	6.49L	3	56.5kg		$9
	6	7	BERNBRAE	Adam Durrant	Clint Johnston-Porter	8.17L	5	54.5kg		$26
	7	8	CELEBRITY ICON	Luke Fernie	Mrs Lucy Fiore	11.33L	6	54.5kg		$151
	SB	6	MEGAMI	Takahide Ikenushi	Patrick Carbery		0	54.5kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia. 

2023 WATC Derby Betting Odds

The season’s latest WATC Derby 2023 odds and betting market links to Ladbrokes.com.au will be available below.

Western Empire ($1.30 in 2021) was the last WATC Derby favourite to salute.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST 2023 WATC DERBY ODDS (Final Field)

2023 WATC Derby Form

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2023 WATC DERBY FORM GUIDE

2023 WATC Derby Tips

Stay tuned for our insider WATC Derby 2023 Tips on the three-year-olds to back in the Group 2 feature this autumn.

• To Win: #5 She’s Fit ($3.50 at time of publish)

We may have a small field but this is shaping up as one top edition of the W.A.T.C. Derby with every single young stayer in the mix boasting genuine claims at the title. In a nightmare race for the punters, all the three-year-olds are coming off strong lead-up runs, but have to go with the Oaks winning filly to beat home the boys and do the double. The Dan Morton-trained daughter of Pride Of Dubai has won her last two at the track, and she was excellent in the WA Oaks over this distance posting an easy win over the girls. She is proven at the mile-and-a-half and comes down in weight. Rails run from barrier one and Chris Parnham aboard again. Big ticks.

2023 WATC Derby Field

Female runners in the WATC Derby field will likely have raced in the Group 3 WA Oaks (2400m) the week before or the Group 3 WA Champion Fillies (1600m) in February, so look for the dominant fillies in these set weight races as an indication for the WATC Derby as well as those gallopers that have proven themselves able to last the 2400m distance.

Tuscan Queen (2020) was the last filly to complete the WA Oaks – WATC Derby double.

Another good lead-up to the WATC Derby field is the Listed Melvista Stakes (2200m) in March, a race the 2017 winner Gatting won in the lead-up to the Group 2 before Action (2018) improved on a lead-up fifth in to salute in the WA Derby results by four lengths.

Regal Power (2019), Western Empire (2021) and Alaskan God (2022) are the latest horses to do the Melvista Stakes – WATC Derby double.

The official 2023 WATC Derby field will be announced below once final acceptances close on the Monday of race week.

Only eight three-year-old stayers face off in the WATC Derby 2023 final field this weekend with markets on the Perth classic led by Awesome John coming off a close Group 2 Tulloch Stakes third in Sydney and the in-form local Dan Morton-trained WA Oaks winning filly She’s Fit chasing her third win on the trot.

No	Last 10	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	517×4111	ANOTHER CHINO	Daniel Morton	Brad Parnham	2	56.5kg		79
2	13102×6222	DEMOLISH	Neville Parnham	Steven Parnham	3	56.5kg		73
3	812312×263	AWESOME JOHN	John O’Shea	William Pike	8	56.5kg
4	5254122343	PLAYHOUSE PATRON	Bob McPherson	Joseph Azzopardi	4	56.5kg		70
5	6×62311	SHE’S FIT	Daniel Morton	Chris Parnham	1	54.5kg		80
6	4713311424	MEGAMI	Takahide Ikenushi	Patrick Carbery	5	54.5kg		70
7	33210×762	BERNBRAE	Adam Durrant	Clint Johnston-Porter	6	54.5kg		68
8	76×2255310	CELEBRITY ICON	Luke Fernie	Mrs Lucy Fiore	7	54.5kg		58

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

2023 WATC Derby Nominations

Nominations for the WATC Derby in 2023 are taken in late February and will be published in full below once announced.

The 2023 WATC Derby nominations close on Monday February 20, 2023. 

The WATC Derby 2023 nominations attracted 70 three-year-old stayers – up notably in the 47 from 2022 – led in betting by class Group 3 winning filly Admiration Express.

	Last 10	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Ballot	Weight	Penalty	Hcp Rating
1	2×11242215	ALL THE KING’S MEN	G	3	Trevor Andrews	1	56.5kg		86
2	3261×2	ADMIRATION EXPRESS	F	3	Jason Miller	2	54.5kg		80
3	5×21121	FEELS PLAYFUL	F	3	Mitchell Pateman	3	54.5kg		78
4	59x411x0x	HIGH APPROACH	G	3	Archie Alexander	4	56.5kg
5	15163×1467	MIA GUSTO	F	3	Adam Durrant	5	54.5kg		64
6	6x3812312x	AWESOME JOHN	G	3	John O’Shea	6	56.5kg
7	57×5254122	PLAYHOUSE PATRON	G	3	Bob McPherson	7	56.5kg		67
8	6×14713311	MEGAMI	F	3	Takahide Ikenushi	8	54.5kg		68
9	x442131x54	FLY AWAY HOME (NZ)	G	3	Daniel Morton	9	56.5kg		67
10	2×1741	PLANET CASH	G	3	Hayden Ballantyne	10	56.5kg		67
11	x321638x53	LINDEN LADY	F	3	Grant & Alana Williams	11	54.5kg		66
12	6×12130	GAGE ROADS	G	3	Grant & Alana Williams	12	56.5kg		67
13	7×7541211	WESTOZI	G	3	Albert Bowtell	13	56.5kg
14	413x1x	TWIGMAN (NZ)	G	3	Paul Shailer	14	56.5kg
15	43x94110x	MACK MACK	G	3	Dion Luciani	15	56.5kg		62
16	57217x	CATCH THESE HANDS	G	3	Steve Wolfe	16	56.5kg		62
17	55×3154504	WOZZECK	G	3	Rhys Radford	17	56.5kg		61
18	831x02x	LORD RANDOLPH	G	3	Summer Dickson	18	56.5kg		65
19	21	DEAL OBTAINED	G	3	Danny O’Brien	19	56.5kg
20	44P481622x	TRUEVINSKY	G	3	Jayce Buckley	20	56.5kg		60
21	369x212x	REEL THEMOFF	G	3	Jayce Buckley	21	56.5kg		63
22	x774x34199	FLEUR DELACOUR	F	3	Chris Willis	22	54.5kg		58
23	80x855313x	TRAVEL WARNING	G	3	David Harrison	23	56.5kg		62
24	3371×2	SPECIAL SORT	G	3	Adam Durrant	24	56.5kg		63
25	21×378	ALASKALOT	G	3	Joshua Krispyn	25	56.5kg		62
26	33210x	BERNBRAE	F	3	Adam Durrant	26	54.5kg		58
27	1	ROARING ENGINE (NZ)	G	3	Danny O’Brien	27	56.5kg
28	4129	OCEAN QUEEN (NZ)	F	3	Michael Grantham	28	54.5kg		58
29	78×5221	LET HER BOOGIE	F	3	Roy Rogers	29	54.5kg
30	214×8	BIRKETT BOY	G	3	Stephen Miller	30	56.5kg		62
31	21	COVERT ROSE	F	3	Grant & Alana Williams	31	54.5kg		58
32	44x422x34	JURUENA GOLD	G	3	Trevor Andrews	32	56.5kg		60
33	40162x	LITTLE SILVER	G	3	Steve Wolfe	33	56.5kg
34	35x3425x65	OPTIMAL (NZ)	G	3	Colin Webster	34	56.5kg		57
35	6×313	IHTS CLOSING INN	F	3	Adam Durrant	35	54.5kg		56
36	6×1	SAILORS BOOK	G	3	Maddie Raymond	36	56.5kg
37	90584222	OCEAN AVENUE (NZ)	G	3	Michael Grantham	37	56.5kg		60
38	4x31x	BIG RED HAWK	G	3	Adam Durrant	38	56.5kg		62
39	1×3	AXEMAN’S JAZZ	G	3	Grant & Alana Williams	39	56.5kg		62
40	517×4	ANOTHER CHINO	G	3	Daniel Morton	40	56.5kg		61
41	31x	SIZZLE ME PATRICK	G	3	Tiarnna Robertson	41	56.5kg		62
42	514	DIAMOND SCENE	G	3	Adam Durrant	42	56.5kg		62
43	53x1x	RUSSIAN SNIPER	G	3	Adam Durrant	43	56.5kg		60
44	7x71x	SPEED BUBBLE	G	3	Adam Durrant	44	56.5kg		60
45	018x	UNO ME	G	3	Dion Luciani	45	56.5kg		60
46	54x6x	I LOVE YOUR SMILE	F	3	Lucy Warwick	46	54.5kg		56
47	9x63240x	WEST COAST WARRIOR	G	3	Paul Jordan	47	56.5kg		57
48	8×622	DESERT PETARD	G	3	Adam Durrant	48	56.5kg		58
49	34x2x	ROMANTIC RULER	G	3	Adam Durrant	49	56.5kg		60
50	6×62	SHE’S FIT	F	3	Daniel Morton	50	54.5kg		57
51	723	RELIABLE QUEEN (NZ)	F	3	Michael Grantham	51	54.5kg		56
52	579×2	MINE HOST	G	3	Steve Wolfe	52	56.5kg
53	330x	SANTA BRAE	G	3	Ross Price	53	56.5kg		60
54	8x630x7	MY LOVELY PET	G	3	Lou Luciani	54	56.5kg		56
55	62	ROCKIN’ THE SILKS	G	3	Grant & Alana Williams	55	56.5kg		60
56	3x64x4	YES OF COURSE	G	3	Grant & Alana Williams	56	56.5kg		59
57	534	LOVA SESSION	F	3	Daniel Morton	57	54.5kg		56
58	0x488	VALOREM	C	3	Daniel Morton	58	56.5kg		56
59	7×6	NYET	G	3	Simon A Miller	59	56.5kg
60	9883	PRIDE OF TUSCANY	G	3	Steve Wolfe	60	56.5kg		58
61	6×56	INTERVENTION	F	3	Colin Webster	61	54.5kg		56
62	5x7x	AMERICAN SONGBOOK	G	3	Stephen Miller	62	56.5kg
63	86x	ARABIAN DREAM	G	3	Michael Grantham	63	56.5kg
64	0x8	BEEN WITH GOD	F	3	Chris Willis	64	54.5kg
65	5	POWER OF RED	G	3	Steve Wolfe	65	56.5kg
66	5x	SPEAK TO ME	G	3	Peter Giadresco	66	56.5kg
67	70x	DR ON CALL	C	3	Vaughn Sigley	67	56.5kg
68	9x	IT SO HAPPENS	G	3	Paul Jordan	68	56.5kg
69	Px	FAST THINKING	G	3	Luke Fernie	69	56.5kg
70		SHAKERATO	G	3	Lou Luciani	70	56.5kg

Table Credit: Racing Australia.

WATC Derby History

First run in 1888 when Harridan claimed victory, the WATC Derby is one of the oldest and most prominent races in Perth. Beginning as a Principal race run over 12 furlongs, the race distance was converted into 2400m in 1972. It reached Group 1 status soon after in 1979 and 1987 is the only time in its long history when the race was not held.

The WATC Derby was downgraded back to a Group 2 event in 2011. The fillies have a strong recent record in WATC Derby history including wins by Delicacy (2015), Arcadia Dream (2016) and Tuscan Queen (2020).

Other notable WATC Derby winners include Plastered (2005), Grand Journey (2008), Respondent (2014) and subsequent The All-Star Mile champion Regal Power (2019).

Recent WATC Derby Winners

The full list of WATC Derby winners and placegetters going back to 2000 are found below.

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2023 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Awesome John	2 minutes 32.06 seconds
	2nd	Another Chino
	3rd	She’s Fit
2022 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Alaskan God	2 minutes 31.71 seconds
	2nd	Pale Rider
	3rd	Black Fantasy
2021 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Western Empire	2 minutes 30.91 seconds
	2nd	Temptacion
	3rd	Kerman Rock
2020 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Tuscan Queen	2 minutes 32.24 seconds
	2nd	Red Hot Tip
	3rd	Criminal Code
2019 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Regal Power	2 minutes 30.69 seconds
	2nd	Cockney Crew
	3rd	Ping Me Another
2018 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Action	2 minutes 29.92 seconds
	2nd	Like A Butterfly
	3rd	Media Baron
2017 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Gatting	2 minutes 30.33 seconds
	2nd	Very Tempting
	3rd	Chill The Champers
2016 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Arcadia Dream	2 minutes 31.3 seconds
	2nd	Who Dat Singa
	3rd	Culverin
2015 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Delicacy	2 minutes 38.23 seconds
	2nd	Keysbrook
	3rd	Boom Time
2014 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Respondent	2 minutes 29.59 seconds
	2nd	Ihtsahymn
	3rd	Real Love
2013 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Mystic Prince	2 minutes 31.43 seconds
	2nd	Moreish
	3rd	Desert Glow
2012 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Rohan	2 minutes 34.5 seconds
	2nd	Flashy Fella
	3rd	The Social Network
2011 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Dreamaway	2 minutes 30.7 seconds
	2nd	Playing God
	3rd	Rio Danek
2010 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Chartreux	2 minutes 27.96 seconds
	2nd	Bridgestone
	3rd	Brother Mak
2009 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Marcus Maximus	2 minutes 31.2 seconds
	2nd	Berlioz
	3rd	Phenomenons
2008 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Grand Journey	2 minutes 28.8 seconds
	2nd	Yuro
	3rd	Star Encounter
2007 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Guyno	2 minutes 29 seconds
	2nd	Ballack
	3rd	Original Lovalover
2006 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Catsfun	2 minutes 29.7 seconds
	2nd	Raise A Call
	3rd	Scenic Shot
2005 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Plastered	2: minutes 31.3 seconds
	2nd	Royal Drive
	3rd	Master Minx
2004 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Mr Sandgroper	2 minutes 36.2 seconds
	2nd	Fatal Attraction
	3rd	Cr. Prosecutor / Magic
2003 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Shirazamatazz	2 minutes 32.8 seconds
	2nd	Conspirator
	3rd	Golden Prospect
2002 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Honor Lap	2 minutes 31.5 seconds
	2nd	Lord Mason
	3rd	Storm Fille
2001 W.A.T.C. Derby	Race Not Held
2000 W.A.T.C. Derby	1st	Old Money	2 minutes 30.4 seconds
	2nd	Tingling
	3rd	Grand Turismo