The Group 1 ATC Derby is a race that has so far eluded Gai Waterhouse.
The legendary trainer has claimed almost every other major available but the Derby for three-year-olds over 2400 metres at Royal Randwick remains missing.
On Saturday, the stable will hope to break its Derby maiden by sending out last-start Tulloch Stakes winner Yaletown, who is currently a $16 TAB hope.
Waterhouse’s co-trainer Adrian Bott says the son of Vancouver, who has catapulted into this grade after just four starts, possesses “untapped ability” and will run well this weekend.
“He is a really nice horse for us going forward,” he told SEN Track’s Bensley.
“He’s got here very quickly, which is not a concern, but there are a couple more in the field that have that bit of experience and are a bit more seasoned than him.
“He’s still putting it all together. He just sort of lobs along and does what he has to. He hasn’t quite learnt to put the field away just yet.
“There’s a lot more untapped ability that we haven’t quite seen yet and that’s the exciting part, that he will continue to improve.
“His attitude should allow him to stay and I think he’s a very genuine horse and a good tough chance for us.”
Tim Clark, who partnered with Yaletown last Saturday, will again take the ride.
Bott and Waterhouse have a handful of other key hopes on the opening day of the Championships at Randwick.
Fresh off winning the Prelude at Rosehill last weekend, Yao Dash will back up in the G1 Doncaster Mile where he will be joined by stablemate Shout The Bar.
Yao Dash is a $10 hope and will be ridden by Michael Dee from barrier 11.
“He’s (Yao Dash) in such good shape at the moment. He’s a really happy horse. Very content with himself and obviously racing and working with a lot of confidence,” Bott said.
“He’s striding up lovely, he’s pulled up well from his run. All these positive indications are there that he’s doing really well and thriving. With that you take a lot of confidence that with the right tack conditions he can reproduce a similar performance to Saturday.
“Taking a line through that, I think that’s a strong enough performance to prove to be very competitive on Saturday.”
Shout The Bar’s last run was a disappointing 14th of 15 in the All-Star Mile but she is expected to improve after finding the heavy going a bit much.
Stable regular Clark rides from a wide gate on the $31 chance.
“She’ll definitely run out a strong mile. She’s pretty well weighted,” he said of the Empire Rose winner.
“From there we’re going to have to be pretty positive and look to push forward. All her best performances have been up there on the pace. It’s going to be a little bit tricky for her from the gate.
“She’s one that will prefer not too heavy. The All-Star Mile run deteriorated very quickly on the day. She wasn’t the only one that struggled there late, so you can put a line through that.
“I thought her first-up run was good. She’s trialled well since and she’s performed better deeper into her campaigns so she can produce a big performance on her day.”
In stark comparison to the bleak Derby record, Waterhouse has won the Doncaster on eight occasions.
Staying pair Sacramento and Hush Writer will front up in the G2 Chairman’s Quality and are both great winning hopes at $4.6 and $7.5 respectively, while Marsannay will race in the G3 Carbine Club Stakes over the mile on what is a significant day for the stable.
