It’s Gai Waterhouse-trained Hampton Court who’s the favourite for the VRC Derby on November 1st, but punters are looking to Chris Waller’s Preferment in significant numbers, according to Sportsbet’s Christian Jantzen: ‘there’s not a lot between them, but Chris Waller’s Preferment is the best backed runner. It is a little surprising as Hampton Court is a Group 1 winner, but punters love backing Waller in these big races.’

It might seem a little surprising to see so much momentum gathering behind a horse who doesn’t yet have a win to his name, but he’s clearly very well regarded, and there will be lots of people expecting great things from him – especially if he can put in a good run at the weekend. Given the quality of a VRC Derby field that includes Hampton Court, Moonovermanhattan, Atmosphere and Bachman, it would be an eye-catching first win for Preferment, and it would signal the arrival of a horse to be watched closely in the Racing odds in future Melbourne Spring seasons…

If Moonovermanhattan can come home in the VRC Derby it will be a first Group 1 win for him, but the ease of his win in the Dilmah Exceptional Teas Vase suggests that he has more to give – especially the way he pulled away in the final stages. A win in the VRC Derby would give trainer Mick Price a first Group 1 win, as well, but he sounds confident in Moonovermanhattan’s ability, and also in the credentials he has gained with the win: ‘he’s a good looking horse, he stands over a bit of ground. He is a big clean winded colt, he’s got a lovely temperament on him, he is very sound, he had a good two weeks. I think this race is a good form race for the VRC Derby. I am really looking forward to it and I think he will relax. If you put him in the Derby with cover he would get behind a horse and go to sleep. He has a hell of a lot of things going for him, he just has to get the 2500m.’

So, as if you needed any more reason to watch the VRC Derby, there’s the potential for a nice coming-of-age tale for both Moonovermanhattan and trainer Mick Price – make sure you check out the Racing odds between now and VRC Derby day to see if either represents value for you…

At odds of just $2.70, Hampton Court is well ahead of closest rival Preferment, who’s got odds of $6.00 next to his name on Sportsbet as of right now. Waterhouse has kept faith with Hampton Court after a sluggish start to his Melbourne Spring, and she has already been rewarded with a surprise win in the Spring Champion Stakes – and that was the race that saw Hampton Court’s VRC Derby odds shorten to where you see them now. She sounded appropriately pleased with him after that Spring Champion Stakes win, too: ‘there’s a horse who couldn’t win a race until last week and everyone was pulling on his tail, even the owners had lost sort of heart, but once he was able to sort of mature … he was able to find his feet. He won the Dulcify, I backed him up in the Spring Champion and now he’s bought his ticket to Melbourne. You’d think he might run in the Derby, it would be very nice wouldn’t it, on the first Saturday in November?’

Waterhouse will get her wish of a trip to the VRC Derby with Hampton Court, and when they get there’s he’s likely going to be the horse to beat. For the odds for the rest of the field and lots more, all you need to do is hit this link: Racing odds.

According to Sportsbet, there has been some keen interest in the Gerald Ryan-trained 3-year-old: ‘there is a definite lead to suggest Bachman will go well in the Classic. The race is a traditional preview to the Derby and anything that performs strongly will no doubt firm for the Flemington Group 1.’ Which is part of the reason there will be so much attention on Bachman when he runs at the weekend, but doesn’t give us much to go on by way of a form guide. For that, you’d have to turn to Ryan himself, who sounds pretty pleased with Bachman’s progress through the Melbourne Spring so far, and keen to see just what this horse can do – he thinks there’s better form in Bachman than looks to be the case on paper: ‘I believe if he went back to the fence and followed Shooting To Win in the Stan Fox (1500m) then he’d have run second. The other day he was giving Hampton Court five kilos and his sectionals were as good as any horse on the day. At level weights in the Caulfield Classic he’ll be meeting some of those horses he’s been running against much better off at the weights and that will show us whether he’ll get 2500m (of the AAMI Victoria Derby) or not.’

So keep an eye out for Bachman at the weekend – this is a great chance for him to prove his trainer right, and also to position himself very well indeed in the Racing odds for the VRC Derby at the start of November…

Magicool is at odds of $8.00 on Sportsbet today for the VRC Derby on November 1st, but that has time to change again before the race – Magicool is in action again at the weekend in the Caulfield Classic, for which there are odds of $7.00 next to his name. He’s proving to be a popular choice for punters at those odds, too, according to Sportsbet: ‘punters are steering clear of Kumaon, the colt is unwanted in betting. Magicool is getting all the love and is the best supported runner.’

So he’s popular in the betting, and he’s doing everything his trainer could ask of him, it sounds like: ‘we targeted him a long time back to be one of our Derby hopes. These Fastnet Rock horses, when you cross them over Galileo mares, they are very stout, but you can get a good turn of foot on a stayer. There’s a fair bit of upside there; as he stargazed there a bit at the end. He’ll go to the Caulfield Classic (2000m) and then another two weeks to the Derby, whereas the other horses we have may go via the (Moonee Valley) Vase a week later.’

Magicool has his path to the VRC Derby pretty much mapped out for him, then, and he’s looking in decent form for a strong bid in that race, so make sure you’ve got all the Racing odds for him!