Sky Sports Racing presenter Alex Hammond looks ahead to some Classic action at Epsom on Friday and Saturday.
This weekend we are off to Epsom for the middle distance Classics, a weekend that has changed over the years but essentially is as it was when the first Derby was run in 1780.
We are trying to find the fastest horse over a mile and a half on a rollercoaster of a course that would never in the modern era be earmarked for a prestigious home of horseracing. However, that’s what makes it a special and unique challenge.
The Betfred Derby takes place at 4.30 on Saturday and there are more questions than answers ahead of the great race. Ante-post favourite City Of Troy has more to answer than most after his dismal display in the 2000 Guineas. That’s not the only doubt about his Classic claims as he has also been drawn in stall 1, which has produced winners in the past but not many.
His stablemate Los Angeles has been all the rage this week and he brings an unblemished record into the contest thanks to two wins as a juvenile and one in the middle of May, his only start this season. He’s by a Derby winner in Camelot, unlike his higher-profile stablemate who is a son of American Triple Crown winner Justify.
So, all respect to Los Angeles, who is less American than his name would suggest.
Charlie Appleby’s horses are back firing on all cylinders, and he saddles Ancient Wisdom, who looked like a real tractor when he won the Kameko Futurity Trophy at Doncaster in heavy ground back in October, and while there’s rain around and the ground is on the soft side, he looks to have work to do. He’s still improving but there must be a worry that he has what it takes for a challenge like this unless we get another deluge of rain.
There’s no doubt that the whole Sky Sports Racing team are rooting for AMBIENTE FRIENDLY, as he was bought at the breeze-up sales for the Gredley Family by our friend and colleague Freddy Tylicki.
It would be an incredible achievement for Fred to have bought a Derby winner in the fledgling stage of his bloodstock career. To have found a leading contender is already a feather in his cap. There’s no doubt the story was tainted when the colt’s regular jockey Callum Shepherd lost the ride to Rab Havlin, but at the end of the day, that happens in racing, and it would still be a wonderful result. I’d expect the track to suit after his win in Lingfield’s Derby Trial, with the cambers very much like those at Epsom.
Dancing Gemini will probably feel like an 800 meter runner switching to the marathon when he tackles the test on Saturday. He has yet to race beyond a mile and while that’s an exaggerated analogy, this will be different to what he’s used to. It’s a trip that should suit him on breeding though and if you’re not in you can’t win. Good luck to Roger Teal and I hope he runs well.
So, selection time, and am I letting my heart rule my head? Probably, but in an open Derby it’s Ambiente Friendly for me around 11/2 with Sky Bet.
The Betfred Oaks comes before the Derby though with Friday’s Group 1 looking as open as it’s Classic partner 24 hours later. Twelve fillies have been declared for the race with two for Aidan O’Brien, but he’s been trumped by Ralph Beckett who has no less than four in the race.
Aidan O’Brien’s first string is Ylang Ylang, and she has been drawn twelve of twelve and that’s not ideal. Her fifth in the 1000 Guineas looks good but she must prove the extra half a mile is what she wants.
Forest Fairy is the shortest priced of the Beckett runners and she has already won over a middle distance trip when winning the Cheshire Oaks over 1m 3½ furlongs at Chester last time out. She should stay even further in time, and it will be interesting to see where they go with her as the year goes on.
It may not go down to safety in numbers though because Dermot Weld just has the one to go to war with and that may be enough. EZELIYA is an Aga Khan-bred filly with plenty of stamina in the pedigree.
She won a Group 3 over a mile and a quarter on her return, and she should appreciate the extra quarter of a mile on Friday. Weld has won many top prizes throughout his glittering career, including the Oaks and Derby, so he is well aware of the type of horse he needs to lift one of these prestigious prizes. She’s 4/1 with Sky Bet to win.
Away from the two Classics I like BOLSTER on his second start for Karl Burke. He runs in Friday’s 3.45, the Betfred Nifty 50 Handicap over a mile and a quarter. He’s one of two in the race for the trainer and owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, and he’s still unexposed. He’s 9/2 joint favourite with Sky Bet.
Eve Johnson Houghton is enjoying a successful season, and she can add another one to her 2024 tally with BALMACARA in the Listed Aston Martin Surrey Stakes at 5.10 on Friday.
The trainer has a good record at this track and whilst Balmacara has a bit to find on ratings with the favourite Zoum Zoum, he comes here in good form, will appreciate the rain that has fallen, and the seven furlongs suits well. He’s 7/2 at the time of writing.
South African Dylan Cunha is making a name for himself as an astute trainer on these shores, and he’s attracting some decent owners because of that. Martians Racing own a nice horse over jumps with Venetia Williams, and it’s good to see that they now part own SILVER SWORD with Cunha, the horse is a 9/1 shot for the Group 3 Betfred Diomed Stakes on Saturday.
He ran well at this meeting last year over a mile and a quarter in handicap company but has shown he has enough speed for this mile trip. He ran well over seven furlongs in a listed race at Haydock on his seasonal return and the step back up to this trip will suit. I hope he can run well.
DEMOCRACY DILEMMA could be one to keep on side in the Aston Martin “Dash” Handicap at 3.45 on Saturday. He ran in the 3yo Dash last year, where the ground was on the quick side, for his previous connections and has since changed hands for 105,000 guineas.
He’s now trained by Robert Cowell who is well known as a handler of sprinters, and he has run well on his last couple of starts for this yard. He has caused problems at the stalls in the past, and sometimes missed the kick as a result which is something he can’t afford to do at Epsom, but plenty of work has been done by the team to help with that issue and he’s behaved well recently. The easier racing surface will also suit him this year and he’s a sprinter still on the upgrade.
I also want ZIGGY on my squad at Epsom on Saturday. He goes in the Long Shot Northern Dancer Handicap at 5.15 for trainer Harry Eustace.
Ziggy ran well at this track over a mile and a quarter on his return in April but is also a winner over a mile and a half elsewhere, so the step back up to that trip is no inconvenience here. It looks like he hasn’t been the most straightforward to train as he’s lightly raced and has had a few spells on the sidelines, but he has a good consistent record and runs off an unchanged mark for that recent second place behind a well fancied winner for the same stable.
Published at 1616 BST on 30/05/24
Epsom Derby features and preview
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