Maison Louis may not have been the headline act going into the Queensland Derby, but he delivered a standout performance that gave training duo John O’Shea and Tom Charlton a memorable quinella at Eagle Farm.

Just shy of their first year in partnership, the pair celebrated their third Group 1 win of the season, following earlier victories in the William Reid Stakes (1200m) with Schwarz and the Randwick Guineas (1600m) with Linebacker.

Maison Louis ($12), guided expertly by Ryan Maloney, held off his fast-finishing stablemate King Of Thunder ($12) by a full length, while Chase Your Dream ($21), trained by the Hayes trio, filled third.

“He’s just been a progressive horse by a top young stallion in Super Seth,” O’Shea said of the Caulfield Guineas-winning son, who cost NZ$250,000 at Karaka. “He’s just a tough, resilient little horse and he’s come from obscurity to win a Queensland Derby so we’re very excited.”

Favourite Belle Detelle ($4.40), ridden by James McDonald, made an early mid-race surge but faded to finish seventh. “It was a very dawdling run Derby, and when J-Mac sort of made his move at the half mile, he increased the tempo, but not by a hell of a lot,” said Maloney.

“We were sort of on the fence and everyone was starting to want to get to that better ground, and John wanted me to get one off, but after the scratchings, we ended up drawing one. But that’s why I wanted to be three back the fence, so I had two options when I wanted to stake my claim.”

This win marked Maloney’s sixth Group 1 success, with Maison Louis now boasting four wins and a placing from just seven career starts.

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