Bennett, who is a trainer himself, had decided to stay in Wollongong because of wet weather instead of being trackside.

"I had to look after the horses here but I'm sitting here crying," Bennett snr said.

"What a great drive - I can't believe we've won the Derby."

Courage To Rule is prepared in New Zealand by part-owner John Green but with Bennett another of the five owners, NSW's premier driver was always going to be in the sulky when he came to Australia.

Greg Bennett's thoughts immediately turned to his father on returning to winners' enclosure.

"It's a very special win for me because my dad (Jim) has a share in him," Bennett said.

"He was going to come down but decided to stay at home in Wollongong. I reckon he would be pretty excited.

"To win it for him is a real highlight."

Bennett produced the best drive of the Derby, biding his time back in the field as For A Reason, Lanercost and Lincoln Royal all had a turn at leading before Courage To Rule fired home from the one-one sit to steal the race.

The son of Courage Under Fire, which finished fourth in his heat, produced a stunning sprint to come over the top of more fancied rivals Lincoln Royal and Lanercost.

"I got a beautiful run and when I pulled out at the top of the straight I always thought I was going to get the leaders," he said.

"He let down like a real nice horse as he did in the heats."

Courage To Rule will target the Tasmanian and Australian derbies before heading to Menangle in April for the NSW Derby.

Later in the night, Bennett once again had to settle for a Grand Circuit placing with Karloo Mick in the A G Hunter Cup.

Standing-start specialist Bondy jumped straight to the front and led all the way in the $400,000 feature with Karloo Mick getting off his back late but being unable to run down the Kiwi.