Derby types hoping to go the distance - Sydney Morning Herald

Fiveandahalfstar has finished second thrice in Melbourne, including in the Australian Cup, as he runs himself into fitness for Sydney. Photo: Getty Images

For years the critics have argued that the 2500 metres of the Victoria Derby is too far, and too early in the season, for most three-year-olds.

Sometimes the horse that triumphs is not so much a top-line stayer, but merely the best of the bunch who can run what, for many at that stage of their careers, is a marathon trip.

But last year's derby was different, with a number of the protagonists, headed by winner Fiveandahalfstar, set to play a major part in the staying races over the Sydney autumn carnival.

For every Hit The Roof, Amalfi, Benicio, Plastered and Kibbutz who have won the race in the past 15 years and failed to do much afterwards, there has also been horses of the calibre of Elvstroem, Efficient and Lion Tamer who have gone on to win at group 1 level as older gallopers.

Elvstroem and Efficient scored in two of Australia's most storied events, the Caulfield and Melbourne cups respectively. Monaco Consul, the winner in 2009, was placed in the Caulfield Cup as a four-year-old.

It usually takes a season or two for the derby form to prove its worth.

Which is why traditionalists who argue against reducing the derby distance to 2000 metres are looking forward to seeing how things unfold at Rosehill and Randwick over the next six weeks.

Derby winner Fiveandahalfstar, runner-up Super Cool and fourth-placed Hvasstan have already come out and shown themselves to be in fine fettle at the start of their autumn campaigns, suggesting the testing battle over the derby's distance has done them little harm.

Fiveandahalfstar has finished second three times in Melbourne, including in the Australian Cup, as he runs himself into fitness for Sydney.

Super Cool, who is likely to be spelled and saved for the spring, has battled keenly with the Anthony Cummings-trained gelding who beat him at Flemington, gaining his revenge when he triumphed in the Australian Cup, beating not just Fiveandahalfstar but the older gallopers very comfortably. Trainer Mark Kavanagh thinks highly enough of the son of Fastnet Rock to suggest he could be a Cox Plate candidate next season.

Hvasstan is being aimed at the Rosehill Guineas and the ATC Australian Derby by the Gelagotis brothers, for whom he is the horse of a lifetime.

He franked the derby form by running fourth behind Ferlax in the Australian Guineas (1600metres) at Flemington early this month - a race Manny Gelagotis is adamant he would have won had he not missed the start - before scoring the biggest win of his career last Friday night in the group 2 Alister Clark Stakes over 2040 metres at Moonee Valley.

Rawnaq, third in the Victoria Derby, ran fifth to the older horses when David Hayes had a shy at the stumps at the end of the spring carnival in the Zipping Classic at Sandown. He has yet to reappear.

And even It's A Dundeel, the derby favourite who ran seventh, gave the formline another strong boost when he nailed some very smart types, including Proisir, Tatra, Rebel Dane and Ferlax, in the Randwick Guineas on Saturday.

It's A Dundeel had looked the best staying prospect of them all leading into the Victoria Derby, but perhaps had had enough by the time the race came around.