iff Rocket was an impressive winner of the VRC Derby in November. He is exciting in that he is the first local Group 1 winner for the US Triple Crown star, American Pharoah. American Pharoah won the Triple Crown in 2015 as a result of winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness ad Belmont Stakes. He shuttled to Australia from 2017 to 2021. Riff Rocket became the fourth gelding in the last five years to win the VRC. Before that, we had to go back to Sangster in 2011 to find the last gelded winner of the Derby. Since then there has been a seismic shift in the staying ranks in Australia, with the imports now dominating most races past 2000m
