It was a reasonable run Derby for 2015 with the time of 2:28.40 and the best equipped stayer at the moment Mongolian Khan won the race fair and square. The Australian bred colt cost just 9K as a weanling with the Tasmanian produced son of Holy Roman Emperor being purchased at the 2012 Inglis And Son Great Southern Sale. His earnings after today now stand at 625K or almost seventy times more. He seems bombproof in that he can lead or sit close but also is tough and can swim if need be so track bias is unlikely to ever cause his defeat. The most incredible fact was the 2015 NZ Derby was the first for rider Opie Bosson and trainers Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman. This stable and rider pairing captured G1 in the spring with Turn Me Loose and also have a lot of tidy 3yo fillies that have won up to G2 with more spoils to come and possibly a G1 NZ Oaks. The favourite Volkstok’n’barrell had every chance following the winner and when he came up four-wide near the home turn the winner was three-wide and moving at the same time. This pair drew right away from the rest with the key stamina fact being Volkstok’n’barrell led at the 250m and Mongolian Khan came back to head him 100m later and win by a length. Sound Proposition may have been a distant third some six and a half lengths from the winner but was super and could well end up the best of the three next season. He was wide in the rear and standing up the first two home a massive start even across the top when he improved a few spots jogging. When steered up the middle near the home turn he then bumped a rival out of the way very heavily at the 400m and actually lost a length momentum. The way he picked up the bit again and got home hard augurs well. Dee Cee I came from the rear too but saved ground the inner then was angled wider halfway up the home straight. It is interesting in the first two sat handy the outer and the next two came from the rear. Midnightmagicman had every chance and was following his stablemate, the runner up, throughout. Sealed By A Dance at triple figures ran a reasonable race while an eyecatcher the closing stages was Margin Trader and he has gone so many big races for a while it must be talking a toll. Vavasour disappointed overall and was too fired up when taking the lead down the backstraight. Chenille the only other filly in the field finished one place behind her and had every chance. Prima for a maiden was just a fair tenth and Nymph Monte at almost $200 a win was a battling eleventh. Gifted Lad never got into the race but he will be more able to handle his vast frame next season. McQueen flopped and simply did not stay while Gaultier has shown his G1 win as a maiden a few starts at Otaki was a fluke and demonstrated how weak that field was for depth. The way that the top two drew out suggests the 2015 Derby had quality but then the next pair home came from miles back to cause some heeding that maybe the stayers were thin on the ground in the field overall. It looks like several from the race will end up useful milers and 2000m types but as to whether many or any will in fact be outright stayers is never known until they tackle the older horses as 4yos. Puccini won the Derby last year and cannot stay at all but beat home a very unlucky not to win Rising Romance and she almost won a G1 Caulfield Cup so the performances as a 4yo can vary massively. The first four were all meritorious and so was Margin Trader that after being pushed very wide across the top and deeper near the home turn was strong the closing 100m. Whether there is much depth in the ATC Derby coming up in Sydney is doubtful so the first two home at least could make the trip with the winner almost certain to go.