A Saturday of Champions
Nick Quinn • October 31st, 2025 9:46 AM • 3 min read
A magnificent day of racing at Flemington and Randwick.
At Flemington there is the Gr.1 Victoria Derby over 2500m with the Ciaron Maher trained Observer a hot favourite following his arrogant win in last Saturday’s AAMI Vase.
One punter anticipates the Tony McEvoy trained Options can finish in the top three with a bet of $3000 the place at $3.80.
Options won his first two career starts and defeated many of his Derby rivals at Flemington two starts ago.
Chris Waller will look to continue an amazing spring with Golden Rose winner Beiwacht, but will face stiff competition from the likes of Tentris and Beadman.
Chris Waller again has a strong hold having won the race last year and this year saddles up drifting favourite Fangirl, Leica Lucy, Lazzura and Firestorm.
The Waller dominance will look to continue in the $10Million Golden Eagle where Autumn Glow is looking to maintain her perfect record.
While the big racing is in Melbourne and Sydney, there will all be plenty of eyes at Del Mar in America with Legendary jockey Frankie Dettori chasing a record breaking sixth win in the Breeders Cup Turf and will ride Nashville Derby winner Wimbledon Hawkeye.
Dettori is tied with Ryan Moore with five wins:
- 1999 Daylami
- 2001 Fantastic Light
- 2006 Red Rocks
- 2010 Dangerous Midge
- 2018 Enable
Dettori has also announced his retirement from riding as he winds down an amazing carer.
Plenty of punters will pick up the form guide and notice that James McDonald, regarded by many as the best jockey on the planet, has only a few rides on Melbourne Cup day.
This is because he is riding light in the Melbourne Cup with his mount Meydaan set to carry just 54KG.
As a result, his manager Mark Guest deliberately only booked him one ride before the feature race to help him get his eye in and then an additional x after the Cup, in which time he will be able to enjoy a richly deserved snack in between races.
