Premier horsewoman Emma Stewart continued her unprecedented dominance of Victoria’s two pacing Blue Ribands in Melton on Saturday night.
Australia’s oldest classic, the Victoria Derby, has been won by the who’s who of the Southern Hemisphere’s finest trainers, but none have managed to compile a record such as Stewart’s.
Securing the Group 1 for the first time with Our Little General in 2017, Stewart has now won five of the nine subsequent editions, including the last four years!
Causing a massive upset at $51, Dynamitedan became Stewart’s latest Derby champion earlier this evening.
During their peak, Bob and Vin Knight won four of seven Derbys between 1982 and 1988.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have had a lot of success in the Derby,” Stewart said. “It is certainly a race we aim to have a strong presence in.
“To win such a prestigious race again is very special, as we couldn’t be more thrilled for the owners.”
With James Herbertson in the cart, Dynamitedan scored by a metre and a half from his stablemate Mount Barker Boy, with Soho Charmer a metre away in third.
Rating 1:54.6 over 2760 metres, the son of Somebeachsomewhere took his record to five wins and three placings from 13 starts for earnings of $208,062.
Less than two hours later, Stewart added the Oaks to her collection of 150 Group 1s.
It is the fourth time Stewart has won the Derby and Oaks in the same season, the first being in 2017, when Miss Graceland matched Our Little General.
Stewart has won four of the nine subsequent Oaks.
As for her latest Oaks star, Bettor Beach led throughout from barrier four to lead home another Stewart quinella, with Willows Girl finishing six metres behind the winner.
Rank outsider at $151, Rachels Legacy was 22 and a half metres away in third.
Driven by Mark Pitt, Bettor Beach stretched her record to seven wins from 10 starts with her 1:55 performance over 2760 metres.
“She is a high-quality filly which we have a pretty big opinion of,” Stewart said. “This race had been set out for her a long time ago and she did it easily in the end.”
Stewart also claimed victory in the Hertz Melton Ladyship Cup (Group 3) with Let Her Roll and the Logical Staffing Solutions Free For All with Cigano, capping off a memorable night at Melton.
