Prima's rapid development has come as no surprise to Cave, who has no doubt the gelding will relish the 2400m of the Derby.
"He's always showed us a lot and he'll run the trip no problem," he said.
Prima ran fourth in an Ellerslie maiden over 1400m at his second appearance in January and then finished third, at odds of better than $130-1, to Mongolian Khan and Giant Turtle in the Waikato Guineas.
He showed that was no flash in the pan when he split the current Derby favourite and Volkstok'n'barrell in the Avondale Guineas.
Prima's connections will opt for experience should the Derby plan come to fruition with Mark Du Plessis booked to replace the apprentice Brendan Hutton at Ellerslie.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Cup ride on the Mike Moroney and Chad Ormsby-trained Surpass is up for grabs.
The $6 co-favourite for the feature with Rock Diva is without a jockey.
Surpass won the Waikato Cup under Opie Bosson, who was also aboard the stayer when runner-up in the City of Auckland Cup and fifth in the Herbie Dyke Stakes at Te Rapa.
"Opie's jumped on Show The World for the Cup so we've yet to confirm a rider," Ballymore Stables' racing manager Nick Fairweather said.
"Chad and Mike will discuss that in the next couple of days and a few jockeys have already tossed their hats in the ring."
Surpass completed his cup preparation with a last-start third in the Kaimai Stakes at Matamata on Saturday.
"We were really happy with the run and the way he relaxed and he got home well," Fairweather said.
"It was a nice lead-up to Auckland and he's doing everything right."
- NZ Racing Desk
