Seventeen years ago, assistant trainer Andrew Gluyas helped his future father-in-law Leon MacDonald prepare the Rebel Raider for victory in the Victoria Derby at Flemington, but he watched from Morphettville.

On Saturday he won the race in his own right with Goldrush Guru, a year after MacDonald ended their training partnership when he retired.

Naturally, he was on track for this edition and there is no doubt about what this victory meant for him, derbies being a key element in the history and philosophy of the team.

As such, Goldrush Guru’s stunning victory will be remembered for years to come.

“We often talk about Derbies. Léon won the SA Derby with French Cotton – that’s the name of the French Cotton Lodge back home,” he said.

“We had a great horse race in the Derby. Gold Guru won the AJC Derby. Rebel Raider then came up in 2008 and won the Victoria Derby and then our Derby.

“We’ve had a few near misses with Hydrometer, it’s folklore… when we prepare them and you get a good result like this, it’s great that we can talk about Goldrush Guru again.”

Jamie Kah added an extra South Australian element to the win, having long been associated with the Gluyas/MacDonald yard.

However, she almost missed the race altogether, having been hit on the head by Hurry Curry before the Wakeful Stakes earlier in the day.

Gluyas praised Kah’s courage and confirmed he would return to his home country for Saturday night’s celebrations.

“I was a little worried. She got hit in the nose and it really bothered her, even on that ride. ‘Probably broken,’ she said, there’s a lot of courage there,” he said. he declared.

“I think she ran her first black type race for us. I’m not sure what it was. But whatever it was, it’s a credit to her. Well done.

“I’m speechless, overwhelmed, proud, satisfied. A great moment. I’ll be celebrating in South Australia tonight.”