Kovalica Dominates in Queensland Derby Romp

Rising star Kovalica (Ocean Park-Vitesse, by Makfi) lived up to his red-hot favouritism with a dominant display in Saturday’s Gr1 Queensland Derby (2400m) at Eagle Farm, continuing a superb sequence of Australian Group 1 success for New Zealand-breds, reports NZ Racing Desk.  The $1 million classic was the twenty-first win from 69 Group 1 races in Australia so far this season – an extraordinary success rate of 30 per cent, despite making up only 8 per cent of runners. Kovalica went into Saturday’s Queensland Derby with all the right credentials to join that group, and he stepped out on to the Eagle Farm track as a dominant $1.70 favourite. It was widely expected that Kovalica only needed to avoid bad luck in order to triumph in the Queensland Derby, and champion jockey James McDonald took care of that part of the equation. After initially settling in midfield, McDonald moved out three wide and began to creep closer from around the 1000m mark. Kovalica was poised to pounce at the top of the straight, and when McDonald released the brakes, the exciting 3YO exploded clear. He rapidly opened up a commanding advantage, and despite McDonald easing him down in the final 50m, he still swept past the finish line two lengths ahead of the second-placed Fame (Manhattan Rain). “Everything worked out really well. He got into a beautiful rhythm from the moment I left the stalls up to about the 1000m, when I thought, ‘Well, it’s his time to do a little bit of work. He’s here to shine,” said McDonald.

James McDonald sits as quiet as a church mouse on Kovalica (pic: Grant Peters – Racetrack Photography)