Azzopardi’s SA Derby ‘Shot’

[Wandering Eyes]

Anthony Azzopardi admits inexperience at Angle Park is a “bit concerning” for his well-fancied trio ahead of Thursday night’s Group 3 SA Derby heats (530m).

At the forefront of an imposing Victorian presence in the heats of the Derby and G3 SA Oaks, Azzopardi has a runner in each of the three Derby qualifiers; Shot Of Red (Heat 1, Box 5), Salad Dodger (Heat 2, Box 6) and Deadly Class (Heat 3, Box 2).

Shot Of Red and Deadly Class are both odds-on favourites, at $1.80 and $1.55 respectively, while Salad Dodger is a $6 chance.

Shot Of Red, a son of Azzopardi’s 2019 Melbourne Cup hero Whiskey Riot, is chasing a fifth straight win, having led throughout in fast time in winning his past two starts at The Meadows, clocking 29.80sec twice.

“If Shot Of Red brings his Melbourne form, he’ll be very hard to beat, but it’s all about whether he’s learned from his trial.”

“I trialled him at Angle Park last Thursday and I thought his run (30.80sec) was pretty good, considering it’s a very quiet lure over there,” said Azzopardi, who trained 2016 Derby runner-up Ultimate Magic.

“I think it’s a track where you need a couple of looks; I wouldn’t mind being a local.

“It’s a bit concerning, and he’s drawn Box 5 too. Boxes are a big factor when they’re not experienced at a track.

“If he brings his Melbourne form, he’ll be very hard to beat, but it’s all about whether he’s learned from his trial.”

WATCH: SA Derby contender SHOT OF RED (B1) extended his winning streak to four with a flying front-running exhibition at The Meadows on August 27, clocking 29.80sec.

Azzopardi’s concerns played out last Thursday when his two other Derby contenders raced at Angle Park and both disappointed as odds-on favourites after poor starts.

Dual G3 finalist Deadly Class stormed home to run second, while Salad Dodger finished sixth.

“They came out terrible; they’re not that slow early,” Azzopardi said.

“They did everything right; they were down, ready to jump, and then the lids opened, and they were out the back.

“Deadly Class has a big engine but it’s very hard when you miss the kick like that.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw the first two boxes I’d drawn; Shot Of Red in five and Salad Dodger in six. At least Deadly Class has drawn near the fence. Their chances will come down to whether they’ve improved from last week and how they get out.

“I couldn’t really separate Deadly Class and Shot Of Red as my best chance. Deadly Class is a lot stronger and a little bit quicker overall, while Shot Of Red is a lot quicker early.”

Victoria has the odds-on favourite in each of the three Derby heats, with Lisa Cockerell’s lightly raced Hector Fawley (Box 4) $1.60 in the second qualifier.

Hector Fawley, a homebred son of Bernardo and Rolanda Hooch, has won four from six, clocking 29.33sec at Sandown Park twice and then tuning up for his Derby bid with a Best Of Night seven-length 30.36sec display at Angle Park last Thursday.

Victorian females have also been installed as favourite in all three Oaks heats.

McKeon Bale (Box 3), trained by Daniel Gibbons, is $2.20 in the opening runoff, ahead of another Vic in Glenn Dainton’s Jackpot Joan (Box 4) at $3.70.

Jeff Britton is no stranger to success in Adelaide, including Oaks victories with Mepunga Nicky (2011) and Oakvale Destiny (2014), and he has the market fancies in the second and third heats in Wobbly Boots (Box 1) and Ava Blazer (Box 2) at $2.50 and $2.30, respectively.

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