Fast ground for the Classic will be a new test for Sir Dragonet, who has had ease in the ground for two races so farMy first confident assertion of Derby week is that Sir Dragonet is not going to get the same ground on which he was so impressive at Chester. Weather-related predictions are, um, not exactly danger-free but we’re only five days from the greatest Classic and there is no sign of the precipitation that would surely help the favourite.“The only threat of rain I can see in the forecast just now is in the next 48 hours,” Epsom’s clerk, Andrew Cooper, told me this morning. “It’s really confined to Tuesday afternoon and is expected to be showery in...
The Ballydoyle trainer has four of the top six in the betting for the Epsom Derby but has even spoken of running likely favourite Sir Dragonet at ChantillyThis year, more than any other year, it has become important to anticipate Aidan O’Brien’s running plans for the Derby. The master of Ballydoyle has four of the top six in the betting plus other potential runners, only he’s considering sending a couple of them to the French Derby instead. He has even spoken of the possibility of Sir Dragonet, who would start favourite for Epsom if he ran there, turning up at Chantilly. A significant edge awaits any punter who can work out the plans in advance although he has been speaking...
Ed Walker and Charlie Fellowes appear to have serious Derby hopes for the first time but this week will put both to the testIt’s a huge week for two of the younger, up-and-coming British trainers hoping to find themselves with the first credible Derby contenders of their short careers. Ed Walker will run Cap Francais in the Lingfield Derby Trial on Saturday while Wednesday’s Chester Vase is the big occasion for Charlie Fellowes and his King Ottokar.Fellowes recently bought Luca Cumani’s stable but has decided to delay moving his string there out of respect for King Ottokar’s chance in the Epsom Classic. “If we are gonna go for the Derby, the last thing I really want to do is change...
Nate The Great will be given a chance to earn his place in the Epsom Classic for trainer who set up with three horses in 2016Archie Watson, fastest rising of all young Flat trainers, has a possible Derby contender in his string. I learned this at a media morning yesterday at his Saxon Gate stables in Upper Lambourn, formerly used by Fulke Walwyn and an early base for Mick Channon in the days of Piccolo.When Watson started up there in 2016, he initially had just three horses that he’d bought on spec. Four wins that year became 56 the next and 105 last year, when his prize money total broke the £1m mark. Now he has more than 100 horses...
His first Derby winner was an expensive experience for some but it’s easy to admire the retiring Newmarket trainerAch, what a pity that Luca Cumani’s final runner could not be a winner. Swansdown finished strongly but too late at Wolverhampton last night, giving the veteran trainer one last taste of the job’s frustrations. Perhaps that’ll make it very marginally easier for him to walk away. Related: William Hill in goodwill gesture after punter’s SP complaint by Chris Cook Continue reading...