Macdonald returns to scene of Derby upset

Eight years after Rebel Raider caused a major upset in the Victoria Derby, one of his daughters runs at Flemington chasing a Group Two win.

Like Rebel Raider, the 100-1 winner of the 2008 Victoria Derby, Pretty Punk is trained by Leon Macdonald who has since formed a partnership with Andrew Gluyas.

Pretty Punk has already made her mark with a Listed win at her home track in Adelaide to give her sire his first stakes win.

She lines up as the second favourite in Saturday’s Group Two Wakeful Stakes (2000m) after a third in the Geelong Classic but unlike some of her rivals, she won’t be aimed at the VRC Oaks,

“I don’t think she ran the trip. I think the 2400 metres with the weight on her back found her out,” Macdonald said.

“But Nick Hall got off and wanted to ride her again so that’s a positive.

“She was never in the Oaks but if she had won at Geelong we would have paid the late entry.

“We will look at 2000 metre races for her.”

The stable will start the day with So You Too in the Carbine Club Stakes with the three-year-old stepping up to 1600 metres on the back of two short course wins at Morphettville.

The gelding is a son of So You Think, a dual Cox Plate winner for Bart Cummings and a multiple Group One winner for Aidan O’Brien in the northern hemisphere.

“This race will be a defining moment for him,” Macdonald said.

He’s a lovely horse but this is a harder race than he has been in before.

“He’s big and strong and looks like his father but we’ll see how good he is.”

Hong Kong-based Australian Zac Purton rides So You Too.

“One of his owners is an expat in Hong Kong and he rang and asked if I’d mind if Zac rode him,” Macdonald said.

“I said I’d be very happy.”