Russian Camelot makes history in South Australian Derby at Morphettville | Racing Post

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Russian Camelot became the first northern hemisphere-bred colt to win a derby in Australia when scoring at Morphettville on Saturday.

The son of 2012 Derby winner Camelot, who was originally going to be aimed at the Epsom Classic, finished almost two lengths clear of Dalasan in the South Australian Derby for trainer Danny O'Brien. 

Bred in Ireland to northern hemisphere time, Russian Camelot was 144 days younger than the second youngest three-year-old contesting the Group 1 and gave 172 days to the runner-up.

According to Racing Victoria's executive general manager of racing, Greg Carpenter, 852 derbies have been run in Australia since 1855 and none had been won by a horse bred in the northern hemisphere.

"He's obviously an exciting horse for us and we had to do something that hasn't been done before," O'Brien told Racing.com. "We were always confident the motor was there and that was really enjoyable.

Russian Camelot was trying the 1m4½f trip for the first time and was scratched from two races in the build-up to the race, once for following a spike in temperature and once for playing up at the start.

"It's rare in Australia for a horse to jump up in trip in the Derby but Camelot won the Epsom Derby off one prep run," added O'Brien. "He had the one run at a mile in the 2,000 Guineas. 

"There's certainly no issue doing it in the UK and in France, where they often run in the Derby on their second start. We brought the horse across from England and brought the training manual too."

It was a ninth Group 1 success for jockey John Allen, a former jump jockey in Ireland, who believes Russian Camelot has a big future. 

"He's an exceptional horse," he said. "A lot has been made of his preparation but he's still six months younger than these horses. If he can beat them now, imagine what he can do in six months time."

Following his victory, Russian Camelot emerged as a contender for the Melbourne Cup but connections would not commit to the target.

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Russian Camelot makes history in South Australian Derby at Morphettville

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Russian Camelot became the first northern hemisphere-bred colt to win a derby in Australia when scoring at Morphettville on Saturday. The son of 2012... Read More

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