Golden Horn will be aimed at the Derby, his trainer, John Gosden, has confirmed. The colt, who was so impressive in Thursday’s Dante Stakes at York, had not been entered in the Epsom Classic and his owner suggested that a tilt at the French equivalent was his preference, but those plans have now been abandoned.
Gosden said he had discussed the matter “at length” on Saturday morning with Anthony Oppenheimer, Golden Horn’s owner. “Quite correctly, he wanted to wait to see how the horse came out of the race,” the trainer said. “But I’m very happy.” As a result, Oppenheimer will pay the necessary £75,000 to add Golden Horn to the Derby field at the final entry stage on 1 June.
“That will be the decision, we will go ahead and supplement the horse,” Gosden said. “Obviously, we don’t do that until five days before the race so, as long as everything’s all right then and everything’s in order, we are planning to run the horse.”
Even with the uncertainty over his participation, Golden Horn had been the 5-2 favourite for the Derby and those odds are now likely to come under pressure. He was an emphatic winner of the Dante, beating the two horses that had previously been at the top of the Derby betting, and is just about the only convincing winner of a Derby trial in the past fortnight.
Gosden has won the Derby before, with Benny The Dip in 1997, and he has had other runners placed on several occasions. Even so, when the trainer was asked if he had ever had a horse with stronger credentials going to Epsom, he replied: “Probably not for me, no.
“He’s learned, he’s just come on, he’s only had three runs but his last piece of work was superb. He’s mentally clicked to it and he ran like it [at York]. He relaxed, as well.
“He’s a handy horse, he’s well-balanced, so he suits the race, really. As long as he switches off, he should get the trip well.”
Night Of Thunder beat a record field of 15 rivals here to win the Lockinge Stakes, the first Group One for older horses of the British season. He held off his stablemate, Toormore, by a neck and ensured that his trainer, Richard Hannon, has won the race in his first two seasons with a licence.
Hannon said he had been worried in advance that Night Of Thunder might meet traffic problems of the kind that denied him victory in the QEII at Ascot in October, his most recent run. “But good horses always get themselves out of trouble and that’s what this lad’s done.”
Reflecting on the QEII, in which Night Of Thunder was a fast-finishing second to Charm Spirit, Hannon said: “That was unfortunate and Hughesie [Richard Hughes] tried his best and it didn’t work out. That’s what happens when you race on a rail. I love the way they race up the middle here, it makes it easier for everyone and nine times out of 10 the best horse wins.”
James Doyle was in the saddle here because Night Of Thunder now carries the blue colours of his employers, Godolphin, and Hughes was aboard Toormore, just as he was last May when Night Of Thunder won the 2,000 Guineas. The champion jockey bore the outcome with stoicism and praised Toormore for a “massive” effort.
This Lockinge was a success for Godolphin’s new policy of leaving some of the horses they acquire with their original trainers and Hannon admitted he had been feeling the pressure of hoping he would get this first winner for Sheikh Mohammed’s operation. “I can say it now, I wouldn’t have said it beforehand, but yeah. It’s great to have them on board.”
Night Of Thunder is now expected to be aimed at the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, while Toormore may take him on again there or may possibly be aimed at a longer race.
Ryan Moore took over the rest of this card, riding the winners of five of the other six races. Telescope, winner of the Aston Park, will now try to win a second Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting.
This day has not always had the buzz normally associated with the great occasions of Flat racing but a lively crowd generated a highly enjoyable atmosphere on this occasion, stimulated by thrilling and good-quality action on the track. Attendance was only slightly up at 13,343 but the track hopes to keep increasing that figure during the five-year sponsorship deal with the Qatari group Al Shaqab, who ensured that prize money more than doubled to £750,000 for this day.
At the other end of the financial spectrum, a whip-round of jockeys produced the £290 which Cathy Gannon had been fined by the stewards on Friday. Gannon’s crime was using her phone within the jockeys’ changing room during racing but there was widespread feeling that she was targeted because of the use she made of it – tweeting a picture of untempting food in order to complain about racecourse catering for jockeys.
Paul Struthers, the chief executive of the Professional Jockeys Association, described the stewards’ decision to fine someone in these circumstances as “pathetic”. On Saturday night, he tweeted a picture of a polystyrene cup full of £10 and £20 notes and wrote: “Good effort from the lads at Newbury and Newmarket jesuiscathy job done.”
