HISTORY OF THE DERBY
PENFOLDS VICTORIA DERBY
The Penfolds Victoria Derby is the oldest race of the Melbourne Cup Carnival having been first run in 1855, six years before the inaugural Lexus Melbourne Cup. The Penfolds Victoria Derby is a blue riband event over 2500m which determines the most promising stayer in Australia. Won by some of the greats of the turf including Briseis, Grand Flaneur, Poseidon, Manfred, Phar Lap, Tulloch, Tobin Bronze, Dulcify and Mahogany, among its more recent winners are Lexus Melbourne Cup winner Efficient and runner-up Nothin’ Leica Dane, globetrotting star Elvstroem and prolific stallions Blackfriars, Rebel Raider and Tarzino. It has also been a Lexus Melbourne Cup lead-up at times, with Arena in 1998 the last winner to back up in the race that stops the nation. The last to complete the double was Skipton in 1941. Last year, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Hitotsu - ridden by John Allen - became the first Penfolds Victoria Derby winner to be having his first start beyond a mile in the feature. He returned to win the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) here at Flemington in March.
2021 PENFOLDS VICTORIA DERBY WINNER HITOTSU
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