Waller runners to duke it out in Queensland Derby

Special Swey is ready to prove how special he is when he lines up in the $1 million Queensland Derby at Eagle Farm this Saturday.

In his way over the 2400m journey is not only the carpark draw, but also the first clash with his talented stablemate Kovalica.

Joining the Chris Waller stable, Special Swey won by 1.5 lengths in the Group 3 Rough Habit Plate earlier this month on his Australian debut when paying $26 with online bookmakers.

Under Tyler Schiller, the Sweynesse x Mia Mamma gelding caused the boilover after taking the lead from the jump without any contest and then kicking clear in the home straight to hold on from The Vowels.

2023 Rough Habit Plate replay

Winner: Special Swey

The stage is now set for a huge battle over the 2400m with The Vowels ($13) and Tapildoodledo ($51) also throwing down the challenge in the Group 1 feature for three-year-olds.

Kovalica (8:5-0-2) triumphed in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas before finishing third in the Group 1 Doomben Cup but was scratched from the Rough Habit, so all eyes will be on the contest between these two Waller runners this weekend.

He will begin as odds-on favourite, currently paying $1.95 with the top betting sites.

Waller was impressed with the performance from Special Swey in the Rough Habit.

“He nailed it, he’s obviously very smart. He knew how slow they were going and decided ‘let’s go’,” he told media after the race.

“He’s still behind Kovalica, but if there’s a chink in Kovalica’s armour he’ll run a strong 2400m.

“Certainly, number two but he’s putting his head up and saying ‘I might enjoy this Queensland life’.”

Kovalica has drawn gate five with James McDonald on board setting up a great opportunity from the decent alley, while Special Swey ($10) has drawn barrier 17 with Nash Rawiller booked to ride.

2023 Queensland Derby field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	Kovalica	Chris Waller	James McDonald	5	57kg
2	The Vowels	Toby & Trent Edmonds	James Orman	14	57kg
3	Aberfeldie Boy	Robbie Griffiths & Mathew de Kock	Craig Newitt	8	57kg
4	Promises Kept	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Mark Zahra	1	57kg
5	Andalus	John O’Shea	Blake Shinn	19	57kg
6	Tapildoodledo	Kerry Taplin	Ben Thompson	7	57kg
7	Waitak	Lance O’Sullivan & Andrew Scott	Jake Bayliss	15	57kg
8	Special Swey	Chris Waller	Nash Rawiller	17	57kg
9	Stroke Of Luck	John O’Shea	Ben Melham	4	57kg
10	Smartawi	Gregory Hickman	Tyler Schiller	18	57kg
11	Arby	Darryn & Briar Weatherley	Sam Weatherley	16	57kg
12	Cut On A Dime	Bryce Heys	Damien Thornton	2	57kg
13	The Englishman	Peter & Paul Snowden	Chad Schofield	13	57kg
14	Fame	Peter Moody	Jason Collett	12	57kg
15	Xtrarevz	John Sargent	Joshua Parr	6	57kg
16	Sacred Mission	David Vandyke	Craig Williams	10	57kg
17	Amalgamation	Marcus Wilson	Samantha Collett	20	57kg
18	True Blue	Matthew Smith	Opie Bosson	11	57kg
19	Subarctic (1E)	Matthew Smith	TBC	9	57kg
20	Artful Girl (2E)	Kevin Kemp	Marnu Potgieter	3	55kg