AFL coach kicks goal in Derby
Denis Pagan has a Victoria Derby to go with two AFL premierships after he trained Kiwi-bred Johnny Get Angry to an unlikely win, in one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious races.
Pagan, 73, won just weeks after opening a stable with a small team of horses.
He led North Melbourne to premiership glory in 1996 and 1999.
‘‘This is 10 times better at the minute, I can tell you,’’ an emotional Pagan told AAP when asked to compare grand final glory to winning the Derby.
As one of the outsiders, Johnny Get Angry ($16) was dismissed as a legitimate chance in the $2.2 million (2500m) race.
Also owned by Pagan after being sold for $50,000 at the Karaka Sales, Johnny Get Angry (by Tavistock) wore down his opposition in a muddling-run affair and was strongest when it counted to draw away under apprentice jockey Lachlan King.
The three-year-old gelding was a maiden going into the race but emerged as one of Australia’s brightest staying talents in beating Hit The Shot ($7) by a length.
The favourite Young Werther ($3.40) took the minor placing.
For someone who had a reputation as a hard-edged and uncompromising coach, Pagan was stunned at the result after turning to training in July.
Johnny Get Angry’s win comes almost three decades after King’s father Steven won the Derby.
■ German stayer Ashrun has bolstered the international presence in the Melbourne Cup with a make-or-break win.
Needing victory in the $230,000 Hotham Stakes (2500m) to secure direct entry into Australia’s greatest race, Ashrun delivered at the second start of his spring campaign.
In a desperate finish, Ashrun overcame a sluggish start and a slow tempo to nab Sound in the dying stages to win by the barest possible margin.
Ashrun hails from the stable of Andreas Wohler, the trainer who took Protectionist to Melbourne Cup glory in 2014.
‘‘We are so happy and relieved because we were always aiming the horse at the cup,’’ Wohler confirmed.
‘‘He has taken his last race [Geelong] really well and hopefully he does the same.’’
Kiwi-owned hope Platinum Invador could only manage ninth.