11.55am Derby favourite gets unfavoured stall
The draw for the Derby on Saturday has just been completed and Saxon Warrior, the strong favourite, has been drawn on the inside of the field in stall one. The one box has not supplied the Derby winner so far this century, although it was the berth for the last one in the 20th century – Oath, who gave Sir Henry Cecil his fourth Derby winner in 1999.
With just a dozen runners going to post, there is a feeling that the draw may not be as significant this year as it might be with 20 horses in the field, but they do move towards the right as they travel uphill soon after the start. Ryan Moore, Saxon Warrior’s jockey, might have preferred to be a little closer to the middle, but it is unlikely to have a significant impact on his price.
The two stalls that have never housed a Derby winner – two and 11 – fell to Knight To Behold and The Pentagon respectively.
Full draw:
1 Saxon Warrior
2 Knight To Behold
3 Hazapour
4 Delano Roosevelt
5 Roaring Lion
6 Dee Ex Bee
7 Sevenna Star
8 Zabriskie
9 Young Rascal
10 Masar
11 The Pentagon
12 Kew Gardens
Andrew Cooper, Epsom’s clerk of the course, was also on hand at the draw ceremony in the track’s weighing room to provide an update on the ground.
“Tuesday took an unexpected turn for us,” Cooper said. “We thought we would get 5mm or maybe 10mm of rain, but it really kicked off and we ended up with 22mm, and it remains soft ground as we speak.
“We had a few spots about half an hour ago but at the moment, it looks as though the M25 is acting as a bit of a force field for us and rain coming over from France looks to be dissipating before it gets to us, so long may that continue.
“I think it would be at or near good-to-soft [for the Derby] if it stays dry. The last mile is a bit slower generally and obviously it isn’t going to be quick, drying conditions. There’s a chance of spontaneous showers as the day goes on, but fingers crossed, we should be at or near something approaching good-to-soft [on Saturday].”
Thursday’s best bets
The final declarations are through for the Derby at Epsom on Saturday and 12 runners will go to post for the 239th running of the world’s greatest Classic after Aidan O’Brien’s Rostropovich – who goes to the French Derby at Chantilly on Sunday – and his stable companion Nelson were taken out of the field at the final declaration stage on Thursday morning.
The draw is the next item on the agenda, and will be held at the track at 11am, but all eyes will then turn to the skies above Surrey for the next 48 hours or so as the first soft-ground Derby for at least 30 years now seems more probable than possible. It was dry overnight at the track but there are heavy showers forecast for the area for much of the day and while it is possible that the course will continue to escape the worst of it, the ground is officially soft already.
There is rain forecast at Lingfield Park too ahead of a seven-race card on the turf course on Thursday afternoon, and ground that is currently riding good-to-soft could deteriorate further before the first race at 1.40. That should not be any concern for Stormingin (3.40), however, as Gary Moore’s gelding has plenty of form on both soft and heavy going and put up one of the best runs of his career to finish second in a solid time at Sandown Park last week.
Jackblack (2.40) also has form on an easy surface, while up at Hamilton, where the ground is currently good-to-firm and little rain is forecast, Jabbarockie (2.30) will take plenty of beating in the sprint handicap. Soldiers Bay (3.50) and Glorious Asset (4.20) should both go well at Wolverhampton while Halo Moon (7.00) is fairly priced at around 9-1 in a competitive handicap chase at Ffos Las in the evening.
Lingfield Park 1.40 Breakfast 2.10 Blackfyre 2.40 Jackblack 3.10 Hint Of Grey 3.40 Stormingin (nap) 4.10 The Night King 4.40 Red Island 5.10 Renny’s Lady (nb)
Wolverhampton 1.50 Musical Art 2.20 Billy Booth 2.50 Captain Lars 3.20 Kingofthesingers 3.50 Soldiers Bay 4.20 Glorious Asset 4.50 Caledonia Laird 5.20 False Id
Hamilton Park 2.00 Delft Dancer 2.30 Jabbarockie 3.00 Logi 3.30 Jabbaar 4.00 Lady Nathaniel 4.30 Diamond Avalanche 5.00 Troop
Ffos Las 6.00 Misty Bloom 6.30 Le Curieux 7.00 Halo Moon 7.30 Thoonavolla 8.00 Wells De Lune 8.30 Arian 9.00 Bee An Aristocrat
Chelmsford City 6.10 Castelo 6.40 Zac Brown 7.10 Vale Of Kent 7.40 Mesquite 8.10 Shailene 8.40 Qeyaadah 9.10 Karam Albaari
Tips by Greg Wood.
