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By Ray Hickson

A Group 1 win at Royal Randwick would be some way for trainer Shaun Clotworthy and his family to wrap a whirlwind association with exciting three-year-old Willydoit.

Trainer Shaun Clotworthy (Pic: Trish Dunell)

The New Zealand Derby winner has settled in to his new home at Ciaron Maher’s Bong Bong property but will have one final start for Clotworthy, and his wife Emma, in the Group 1 $2 million ATC Australian Derby (2400m) on Saturday.

Willydoit made his debut back in mid-November and raced through the summer leading to his Group 1 victory at Ellerslie on March 8 and Clotworthy said he’s appreciated having his runs spaced.

“We haven’t overly taxed him and we trained him in a similar environment to Bong Bong, where he’s going out in the paddock and having mini breaks, and he’s done a good job for us,’’ he said.

“He’s still basically on his first preparation, that’s in the back of our minds a little bit, but my son has been looking after him here and my wife Emma has been here and they’ve said he’s thrived.

“He’s got plenty of maturing in him so if everything goes well he can have a proper break after Saturday and he’ll come back a bigger and better horse.

“(Ciaron) has a great set up here at Bong Bong and he’ll do well here. It’s a little bittersweet but you get a chance to have a runner in an Australian Derby as well which is great.”

It’s been 10 years since the last New Zealand Derby winner took out the Randwick feature, that was Mongolian Khan, and then back to 1986 when the legendary Bonecrusher achieved that feat.

Clotworthy acknowledges the task ahead.

The gelding bounced back from something of a trainwreak as a $1.50 favourite in the Avondale Guineas when he overcame a wide barrier to score by 2-1/4 lengths in the Derby with Michael Dee, who rides on Saturday, in the saddle.

Willydoit, $4.40 with TAB on Wednesday, will jump from around the middle of the field at Randwick and Clotworthy said that will make the job a bit easier.

“It was a bit hard to take anything out of the Avondale Guineas but we were happy leading into the Derby and ridden positively I thought every horse had their chance to run him down,’’ he said.

“It’s a better draw than he had in the New Zealand Derby, it’ll give Mick some options.

“He can settle off pace, in the Derby he went forward and settled well enough and was still strong enough to finish the race off well.

“We’ve just got to be happy with him and I thought he was dominant enough in the New Zealand Derby.”

When Maher takes over the training following the Derby, the Clotworthys will still be involved as they own a “decent share” in the horse that now has a large ownership group thanks to a 50 per cent purchase by syndicator MyRacehorse.

Will he? Will he? You bet he will!
Willydoit wins the Trackside New Zealand Derby at @Ellerslie_Races.
Ridden by @mickdee020 and trained by Shaun & Emma Clotworthy.@MyRacehorseAU @RacingMcGraw
The traditions of racing have met innovation today and we love it! pic.twitter.com/NwXK9PDVbu

— Trackside NZ (@TracksideNZ) March 8, 2025

Willydoit wins the NZ Derby (Video: Trackside on X)

He describes Willydoit as an unassuming horse with a “balanced attitude and a strong will to win” and that will take him a long way in Australia.

“He’s not a horse that has shown me a huge amount, he works well in himself and has a good attitude to everything,’’ he said.

“I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him or got to the bottom of him yet. With his pedigree and being a big athlete like he is he should improve next preparation.”

All the fields, form and replays for Day 1 of The Star Championships at Randwick