Australian Derby 2015: Bikila follows Ethiopia’s path to staying classic at Randwick

Bikila charges to victory at Sandown last month. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: News Corp Australia

PAT Carey knows what it takes to prepare a lightly raced three-year-old gelding to win the Australian Derby at Randwick.

He did it with Ethiopia in 2012 and hopes to repeat on Saturday with Bikila, who broke his maiden status at Sandown last month at $71 and finished seventh at $101 at his most recent run, in the Alister Clark Stakes.

Bikila is rated a $201 chance in the $2 million race on day one of The Championships, which attracted a field of only 10.

But Carey says the price does not show any respect for the horse, who, like Ethiopia, is owned by West Australian breeder Trevor Delroy.

Though he was originally 30 in the order of ballot among the 44 nominations, Bikila would have stayed in Melbourne and raced at Caulfield on Saturday in a handicap over 2000m if he had not made the Derby field.

Carey has booked Chad Schofield for Saturday’s ride in the Group 1 race over 2400m.

“It’s a small field and sometimes they struggle to get full fields in those races,” Carey said. “This year there just seems to be less of them around. Who knows — a small field might mean a year of opportunity.”

The Pat Carey-trained Ethiopia dashed down the outside to score an upset win in the 2012 Australian Derby at Randwick. Source: News Limited

Carey said Bikila’s win at Sandown, his first from four runs, was completed with plenty of courage, and there is still plenty of upside to the son of Street Sense.

“He seems like a tough horse and we thought his run was a little bit better than it looked in the Alister Clark, therefore we tried to keep him on track to go to Sydney for the Derby,” he said.

Though regarded as the rank outsider, Carey said he did not expect the market to respect the horse. “But he is fit and well and he’ll take his chances,” he said. “He would have gone to Caulfield, but we always suspected we’d get a run with him in the Derby.”

Carey knows the difficulties that Bikila faces to give the Mornington trainer his second Derby because he said Ethiopia had already stamped his class going into the race after a narrow second in the Alister Clark Stakes.

“He has got a long way to go to be in that class and is open to improvement,” he said.

He described Ethiopia, who broke his maiden status in the Derby, as a special horse who had not won a race since but had raced in two Melbourne Cups and a Cox Plate.

Now a six-year-old, Ethiopia is doing rehabilitation work in Perth as he recovers from injury.

Source: news.com.au