Victoria Derby 2026 Field: Cormier Draws Barrier Three

Cormier has drawn barrier three for Saturday’s $3 million Victoria Derby at Flemington, while Chris Waller’s Stormy Marco will jump from gate 16 with James McDonald aboard and Vase winner True Rebel has drawn 17.

The final field of 16, plus two emergencies, was confirmed in the official Racing Australia fields for Derby Day on Saturday 31 October. The Group 1 Derby (2500m) for three-year-olds is race seven on the Flemington card, with a 4:20pm AEDT start, and the track was rated a Good 4 at acceptances.

Cormier, trained at Scone by Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich, is the race favourite, Punters.com.au reported. The colt was third behind Proxima Dea in the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes at Randwick last Saturday and will be ridden by Jamie Mott.

Wide gates for the big guns

Stormy Marco, fourth in that Spring Champion Stakes, picks up James McDonald but must work from barrier 16, with only True Rebel and Murshidi drawn wider. Stablemate True Tone, ridden by Jason Collett, drew 15.

True Rebel, trained by Danny O’Brien, won the Group 2 Vase at Flemington on 24 October and has now won two of his four starts. Billy Egan takes the ride, and the colt jumps from barrier 17, inside only Murshidi in 18.

Ciaron Maher has three runners. Murshidi won the Listed Geelong Classic (2200m) on 21 October, while Skua (barrier 13) was second to True Rebel in the Vase and Vallice (14) was second in the Group 3 Norman Robinson Stakes at Caulfield.

King Snitz and a filly in the mix

Norman Robinson winner King Snitz, trained by Shane Jackson and ridden by Damian Lane, drew barrier six.

Quick Finish is the only filly in the field and carries 55kg, 2kg less than the colts and geldings. The Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained filly won the Group 3 Ethereal Stakes at Caulfield on 17 October, has won three of her four starts and drew barrier 11 for Jye McNeil. Racing.com reported earlier this week that the Derby’s prizemoney had risen by $1 million to $3 million.

Victoria Derby 2026 field and barriers

Barrier 2: Written Empire – Ben, Will and JD Hayes (trainer), Harry Coffey, 57kg
Barrier 3: Cormier – Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich (trainer), Jamie Mott, 57kg
Barrier 4: Hierarchy – Anthony and Sam Freedman (trainer), Ben Melham, 57kg
Barrier 5: Cold Shower – Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott (trainer), Jett Stanley, 57kg
Barrier 6: King Snitz – Shane Jackson (trainer), Damian Lane, 57kg
Barrier 7: Russian Rock – Michael Trotter (trainer), Michael Dee, 57kg
Barrier 9: King Winston – Greg Eurell (trainer), Daniel Stackhouse, 57kg
Barrier 10: Icy You – Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young (trainer), Craig Williams, 57kg
Barrier 11: Quick Finish – Tony and Calvin McEvoy (trainer), Jye McNeil, 55kg
Barrier 12: Cignetti (NZ) – Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young (trainer), William Pike, 57kg
Barrier 13: Skua – Ciaron Maher (trainer), John Allen, 57kg
Barrier 14: Vallice – Ciaron Maher (trainer), Mark Zahra, 57kg
Barrier 15: True Tone – Chris Waller (trainer), Jason Collett, 57kg
Barrier 16: Stormy Marco – Chris Waller (trainer), James McDonald, 57kg
Barrier 17: True Rebel – Danny O’Brien (trainer), Billy Egan, 57kg
Barrier 18: Murshidi – Ciaron Maher (trainer), Blake Shinn, 57kg

Emergencies

Barrier 1: Meet The Prince (first emergency) – Patrick Kearney (trainer), Jackson Radley (a), 57kg
Barrier 8: Locked In (second emergency) – Ken and Kasey Keys (trainer), Ben Allen, 57kg

Derby Day also features the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at 3:40pm and the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m) at 5pm, with the first race at 12:20pm AEDT.

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