King of the Derby

New Zealand jockey Larry Cassidy rode New Plymouth trainer John Wheeler’s Court Ruler to victory in the $500,000 Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm. Wheeler won his first Derby with his champion Rough Habit in 1990 and said he was always confident Court Ruler could win the classic. “It’s always nice to win group 1s but it’s especially nice to win another one at Eagle Farm,” Wheeler said. “I galloped him between races at Doomben on Wednesday and he worked really well and I thought from then on he would be very hard to beat. He’s a tough horse, he ran fourth in the New Zealand Derby and he will get better with age.”