Victoria Derby hope for De Kock

The Victoria Derby at Flemington in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday morning is a Hong Kong World Pool meeting and the good news is South Africa has an interest in the race as Mathew de Kock and partner Robbie Griffiths saddle a runner in this 2500m event.

They have Verdad in the field who is not without a chance and is quoted at 7-1.

Verdad is having his fifth start and is coming off a brave on-pace effort in the Vase last week at The Valley.

The colt went straight to the front and led from a similar gate, sticking to the task well along the rail before Apulia finally chased him down.

As observed when he won on debut at Bendigo, he does tend to do some of his best work on speed, but this time there might be different tactics with jockey Jye McNeil stepping into the saddle for the first time.

Verdad’s effort coming off the speed two back in the Caulfield Guineas was full of merit, especially considering he was caught wide the whole way. This is a colt that continues to improve with racing, so if McNeil can save something for late, a place looks very likely.

The two horses predicted by most pundits to fight out the race are Riff Rocket and Apulia.