Zawraq, the second-favourite for the Investec Derby, is not a certain starter at Epsom on Saturday after suffering a minor leg injury on Tuesday during his final piece of work before the Classic. The news arrived on a busy day in the ante-post betting market on the Derby, which also saw Giovanni Canaletto backed from 16-1 to 8-1 after Aidan O’Brien’s colt was confirmed as the mount of Ryan Moore.
Zawraq, a 5-1 chance on Tuesday morning to give his trainer his first success in the Derby, returned sound from a gallop at Weld’s stable on The Curragh but was later found to be slightly lame on his near foreleg.
“He did a bit of work this morning with Pat Smullen up, he did it fine and walked back to the yard OK,” said Angus Gold, racing manager to Zawraq’s owner, Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum. “But when the head lad came back into his box, he just thought he took a lame step.
“ He has been taken to the vets for an x-ray and scans and they came back fine – they didn’t show up anything apart from a small mark on the inside of his near-fore cannon bone, so hopefully he has just given himself a knock.
“He’s being iced and hopefully he’s just given himself a bang but we will obviously know more over the next 36 hours or so. It was his final piece of work so he’s done everything he needs to do and is a fit horse. We are hoping to get him to the Derby but we just wanted to make everyone aware of what has happened. We’ll see if anything comes to light in the next 36 hours.”
Zawraq started to drift in the ante-post market for Saturday’s Classic as soon as news of his setback emerged and had eased to a top price of 7-1 with Paddy Power and Stan James on Tuesday afternoon. Several bookmakers also took the opportunity to shorten their price against Golden Horn, the favourite, although John Gosden’s colt moved in the opposite direction with William Hill, out to 15-8 from 7-4.
The main mover further down the ante-post list for the Derby was Giovanni Canaletto, who shortened throughout the day before confirmation arrived that he will be Ryan Moore’s chosen mount from three possible rides for the Aidan O’Brien stable. The son of Galileo was beaten a neck on his seasonal debut in the Gallinule Stakes at The Curragh last month.
With Moore booked for Giovanni Canaletto, the rides on his stablemates, Kilimanjaro and Hans Holbein, will be taken respectively by Joseph O’Brien – the trainer’s son and the winning jockey 12 months ago aboard Australia – and Seamie Heffernan.
Riding plans for O’Brien’s runners in Friday’s Oaks have also been finalised. With Moore due to partner Legatissimo, the 1,000 Guineas winner, with David Wachman, Joseph O’Brien will ride Together Forever, the runner-up in last month’s Musidora Stakes, with Heffernan booked for Diamondsandrubies, the Chester Oaks winner. Colm O’Donoghue will ride O’Brien’s third contender, Qualify.
Elsewhere Graham Gibbons has been cleared by the stewards at Ripon of any breach of the rules after he was seen to strike his mount All My Love with his hand while in the stalls at the Yorkshire track .
Gibbons appeared to strike All My Love several times before the Follow @ RiponRaces On Twitter Handicap as she attempted to rear on to her back legs. However, the stewards decided that the jockey did so in the interests of his safety.
“We held an inquiry into the incident and considered the improper conduct of Mr Gibbons,” Robert Earnshaw, the stipendiary steward, said. “We noted his explanation, which was that the filly was attempting to rear and turn her head around, which left him concerned for his and her safety.
“He confirmed that he struck the filly, but with the flat of his hand to prevent either of them from injury. This was done in the interests of safety and done purely as a corrective measure so therefore no action was taken.”
Danny Tudhope, who suffered a broken thumb when riding at Catterick on Friday, will see a specialist on Friday before it is confirmed whether the injury will rule him out of the Royal meeting at Ascot, which opens on 16 June. “He’s going to see a specialist in Leeds on Friday morning and we’ll know the full story then,” Laura Way, Tudhope’s agent, said on Tuesday. “He’s expecting to be out for about four weeks. It’s not displaced or anything so there might be something they can do.”
Tudhope rides at Royal Ascot would be expected to include G Force, last season’s winner of the Sprint Cup at Haydock, in either the King’s Stand Stakes or Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
