KEY POINTS:
Michael Coleman will have to wait two weeks to see if he is accurate regarding leading 3-year-olds Down The Road and The Meista.
The Matamata jockey took centre stage at Ellerslie yesterday for all the right reasons after the $100,000 Telecom Championship Stakes.
Coleman decided to ride Down The Road rather than The Meista for the $2.2 million New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie on February 28.
Coleman and Down The Road unleashed a powerful finishing burst in the home stretch to defeat pacesetter The Meista with the Australian-trained Coniston Bluebird catching the eye finishing late for third.
A wet track made it difficult to get a line on the fitness and ability of several Derby candidates.
Coleman is confident Down The Road will be ready to run the race of his life over 2400m in the premier 3-year-old classic.
"I was pretty happy with the way this horse trained on Tuesday at Matamata and he's carried that over into this race," said Coleman.
"It's nice when you make a call about deciding between horses leading into a big race and you get the right result. I'll know in two weeks if I'm a genius as I've got it wrong before.
"He handled the wet track pretty well except for one rough patch at the 600m mark. He was a bit keen early on but once we got cover he relaxed and I have no doubt he'll get the 2400m of the Derby."
Some smart money was placed on Down The Road leading into yesterday's race as he was backed from $21 into $13 for the NZ Derby - money well-placed at this time.
I Robot, The Spaniard and Le Baron lost few admirers heading into the NZ Derby battling solidly into fourth, fifth and sixth placings.
MR TIPSY cemented a starting berth in the Auckland Cup with an easy victory.
The 4-year-old was 19th in the order of re-entry for the Auckland Cup before the running of the $20,000 Lindauer Brut Cuvee 2100.
Coleman had Mr Tipsy forward outside the leader throughout the running of the 2100m event and was a sitting duck in the home stretch.
With five scratchings because of the wet track conditions, Mr Tipsy only had four rivals, and won easily enough although Maythehorsebemagic was one runner to catch the eye with an impressive finishing burst out wide.
Cambridge trainers Murray and Bjorn Baker will get him into the Group One feature with minimal weight. From nine starts, Mr Tipsy has five wins and three minor placings.
ETHAN DALLEY is one apprentice who has made rapid progress despite limited riding opportunities.
Dalley combined with his boss, trainer Robert Priscott, to kick home Mallinson Road to score a brutal front running victory in the $17,500 Punter Of The Year First4 Bonus.
Thanks to the 4kg apprentice claim, Mallinson Road carried only 54kg and jumped straight to the front relishing the wet track conditions.
Mallinson Road was eased down at the finish to defeat Stalingrad and Cosmic Girl who chased the tear away leader throughout.
The Sandtrap-sired gelding has been a consistent performer, scoring four wins and six minor placings from 22 starts.
