SA Derby and QLD Derby plans for Statuario

A powerful staying performance from Statuario has left Emma-Lee and David Browne with a promising dilemma: which Derby path to take next.

Statuario’s victory in the Listed Galilee Series Final (2400m) at Caulfield opens the door to either the South Australian Derby in early May or the Queensland Derby later that month.

Now a three-time winner from 10 starts, the gelding continues to build nicely as he matures.

“We’ll have to weigh up now whether we give him a little freshen now and head up to Queensland or whether we take the four-week gap and head over to Adelaide for the Derby,” Browne said.

“The South Australian Derby looks a nice race for him, if he comes through this well.

“We just didn’t want to stretch him out this far in the spring. He was still a little bit weak, but he’s starting to furnish now, but I don’t know whether he’s that effective on wet and heavy ground, but until you try it, you don’t know.”

Starting at $1.75, Statuario justified the short quote with a dominant 2¼-length win under John Allen, comfortably beating Politely Dun and Litzdeel.

The result followed a solid third in the Group 2 Alister Clark Stakes (2040m), and Saturday's outing proved he can handle a staying test.

“I thought he peaked on his run the other day,” Browne said.

“He had to do a lot of work from the back and if you set sail from a long way out, you will eventually get tired, but today he ended up in the right spot, he went to sleep, and he finished off well.

“He probably hit the front too early and started floating around. Hopefully he will continue to improve from there, but importantly he saw out the trip.

“Sometimes those horses that show a good turn of foot over a mile, they don’t always show it when they get out over further.

“Today he did what he needed to do.”