3 days ago
Delacroix can burn off Derby rivals
Delacroix was beaten more often than he won as a juvenile, but Aidan O'Brien's colt has taken his form to a new level this season and can confirm his status as a truly top-class performer by giving his trainer a record-extending 11th victory in the Betfred Derby, this year being run in memory of Aga Khan IV.
In five outings last season, he won a maiden at the second time of asking and a Group 3 in Newmarket, but was beaten in a maiden, a Group 2, and a Group 1. Those latter defeats, however, were in tight finishes and the evidence of his two runs to date this season suggest he is a more mature sort, who now knows how to win consistently.
After an easy victory in the Group 3 Ballysax on return, he went to the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, and one couldn't help but be impressed with the way he pinned back his ears and sprinted to the line to win emphatically. That was his most impressive performance to date, and it showed he possesses the type of pace which will be a great help at Epsom.
The extra two furlongs of the Derby is an unknown but there is no reason to be massively concerned about it. He is by Dubawi, out of a dam who has already produced the winner of the 14-furlong Prix de Royallieu, and everything points to him having little problem with the trip.
He can continue his ascent through the racing ranks by taking this under Ryan Moore, who is bidding for a fifth win in the race.
Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner Ruling Court is his closest market rival and while there is enough evidence in his breeding to suggest he will stay the trip, it is a concern that he has never yet raced beyond a mile.
Stepping up that far demands an entirely different style of racing and that, allied to the fact he has worn a tongue-tie in both starts to date at three and will do so again at Epsom, is reason enough to skip over him.
Dante winner Pride Of Arras has done nothing wrong in his two outings to date and probably did well to win the Dante as well as he did, considering his inexperience and how strangely that race was run. Virtually the entire field still held some chance at the furlong pole, so being able to prevail with more than a length to spare says plenty about his ability.
He had Damysus (runner-up) and Lion In Winter (sixth, beaten four lengths) behind him that day, but the question is whether they should have been beaten further considering the way both went through the race.
The answer is that, ideally, they should have been, which suggests they could get a lot closer this time, but the winner was having his first run of the season and only second of his career, so there must be every chance he can improve at least as much as they do for the outing.
He can confirm the form with them, though The Lion In Winter was a brilliant two-year-old and likely to step up even further now trying a mile and a half for the first time.
Lambourn did well to win the Chester Vase but that doesn't look like the strongest trial for this race, while French raiders Midak and New Ground have something to find on what they have thus far achieved, though the latter is worth considering as an each-way bet at colossal odds.
Stanhope Gardens, who is closely tied in with Delacroix on Newmarket Group 3 form from last season, is not entirely without hope, given there is plenty of stamina in his pedigree, but he, like Ruling Court, is having his first run beyond a mile.
In an intriguing contest, which probably isn't the strongest renewal we've seen in recent years, the progressive Delacroix can extend Aidan O'Brien's hold on the race by giving him, and Ryan Moore, a third consecutive victory in the premier Classic.
