Latest news with #EpsomClassic
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Ryan Moore rates his ride in the £1.5m Derby race and picks out the main dangers
The world-renowned jockey has won the Derby four times and bids for a hat-trick in the historic race after victories on Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy Ryan Moore has rated his prospects of completing a hat-trick of wins in Britain's richest race, the £1.5 million Betfred Derby on Saturday. The world-renowned jockey has won the iconic race four times including the last two editions on Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy. As the retained jockey of the powerful Coolmore-Ballydoyle axis he has the pick of the best talent to come out of the Aidan O'Brien stable. Moore has the choice of three colts in the 19-runner Epsom Classic and while opting to partner Delacroix, he admitted there is little to choose between him and stablemates The Lion In Winter and Lambourn. Speaking on his World Pool blog, Moore said: 'Delacroix has form with give in the ground, so should handle a bit of ease, but we don't know how much we're going to get. The closer it is to good ground, the more it will suit everyone, while soft ground means some horses will struggle in it. 'He's had a very good preparation for this, having won nicely on both his starts this season and he has plenty of experience on his side. Everything has gone very smoothly with him, we think he's in good shape and we expect him to run a big race.' On O'Brien's other two runners, Lambourn and The Lion In Winter, Moore commented: 'Lambourn will stay well and he's an uncomplicated horse that can probably handle most types of going, while we're not sure about The Lion In Winter. 'He's never run on anything slower than good ground, but I don't see any reason why he wouldn't go on it, he's a good moving horse. At York, he was only just about ready to start back, so he should take a big step forward, and going up to a mile-and-a-half shouldn't be a problem based on his pedigree. 'There's very little to separate the three of them to be honest. They're all there to run their race and I just have to hope that it pans out well for me.' Delacroix heads the betting from Dante Stakes winner Pride Of Arras and Ruling Court, the Godolphin colt who captured the 2,000 Guineas. Moore went on: 'For me, the Guineas winner, Ruling Court, has the best form in the race. Stepping up markedly in trip does raise a big question mark, but he's by Justify out of a High Chaparral mare, so there's a chance he'll stay. If it got very wet, you wouldn't be sure if he'll handle that. 'Both of the Frankel horses for the Gosdens, Damysus and Nightwalker, look like improving for the step up in trip, while Pride Of Arras is an obvious challenger having won the Dante well and it looks like he'll stay. 'Midak is an interesting runner, having won a trial in France. The late Aga Khan has a good record in the race, and it would be fitting for him to run well with the race named in his honour this year.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Epsom aims to put showpiece Classic back at level of Kentucky Derby
Having staged the draw for last year's Derby with hand-scrawled ping-pong balls outside the local Wetherspoons, the only way was up before the 246th running of the Epsom Classic and there was a welcome sense of occasion and sporting heritage as 19 runners – the biggest field since 2003 – were handed their spots in the starting stalls for the race on Saturday. For that, thanks were due in no small measure to the Football Association, which agreed to lend its famous balls, velvet bag and Perspex bowl, familiar from FA Cup draws gone by, for the ceremony. As Willie Carson, four times a winner of the Classic and on hand to draw the stall numbers, pointed out during the rehearsal, the FA's crest was still obvious on the bag. Advertisement Related: FA Cup balls are ready for a wide-open Derby with no obvious winner But if a little borrowing from elsewhere can help to rebuild the Derby's popularity and status, both locally and further afield, then Jim Allen, Epsom's new general manager, will ask away. 'I came here [to the local Picturehouse] to watch a movie a few months ago, and I thought it would be an ideal venue for the draw,' Allen said on Wednesday. 'I called a friend of mine at the FA to ask if there was any chance we could use their equipment, and within 45 minutes, they said: 'Yes.' 'We tried to get a set of starting stalls into town as well, which everybody was on board for, but it was the size of them, we just really couldn't quite fit them in, so we're looking at that for next year.' Allen never missed a Derby when he was growing up in nearby Croydon – 'it was the one day all year when I missed school' – but nearly a quarter of a century working in a variety of roles, including director of racing at Arena Racing Company from 2006 to 2015 and a spell training horses in the US and France, has kept him away from Epsom on the big day since the turn of the century. Advertisement He has thought of little else since his appointment last October, however, and this year the Classic meeting, which opens with the Oaks and Coronation Cup card on Friday, will be his first chance to put a stamp on the event, and tempt racegoers back to an occasion that has seen attendances decline steadily. The 2004 Derby drew 48,000 spectators, but 10 years later the figure had dropped to 34,000 and last year it was just under 27,000. 'It's my job to try to bring some of those crowds back,' Allen says. 'It will take a while to learn about Epsom, it's quite a complicated racecourse with its temporary-structure build, but basically we'll review everything, including the marketing, the promotion, and the temporary structures, and at the heart of it will be the race. I'd like to build everything around the race.' One of Allen's models for the Derby's future will be Louisville, Kentucky, where he has seen first-hand how the buildup to the Kentucky Derby takes over the city in the days before. 'We'd love to get it to that level,' he says. 'It'll take a bit of time but there's no reason why we can't. Epsom is a fantastic town and there are venues here to do all sorts of different things. And as we develop the strategy now, going forwards in the next six months and the next five years, the town will be a big part of that.' Advertisement Uttoxeter: 2.00 Miss Goldfire 2.30 Ernest Gray 3.00 Lost Connections 3.30 Baltray 4.00 Hecouldbetheone 4.33 Auntie Maggie 5.05 Crystal Mer. Hamilton: 2.12 Blue Nguru 2.42 Betweenthesticks 3.12 Sea Legend 3.42 Korker 4.12 Yermanthere 4.43 Sir Garfield (nap) 5.17 Arch Legend. Lingfield: 2.20 Dubai Harbour 2.50 Blewburton 3.20 Keybaar 3.50 Gallant 4.25 Touchwood 4.55 Maid In Chelsea. Chelmsford City: 5.00 Eclipser 5.35 Nifty 6.05 Smokey Malone 6.35 Hot Dancer 7.07 Danza Parigina 7.42 Maxident 8.17 Ornately (nb) 8.47 City Captain. Ffos Las: 6.15 Reina Del Mar 6.45 Unspeakable 7.20 Gavin 7.55 Ferret Jeeter 8.30 You Say Nothing 9.00 Twist Of Fatecatch. Advertisement The most significant news after the draw on Wednesday was the confirmation that Ryan Moore, Aidan O'Brien's stable jockey, will ride Delacroix, the winner of Leopardstown's Derby trial, from stall 14, while Colin Keane and Wayne Lordan will take the reins on his stable companions, The Lion In Winter and Lambourn, drawn in 19 and 10 respectively. Delacroix remains favourite at a top price of 3-1, with Ruling Court, the 2,000 Guineas winner, on 7-2 and Pride Of Arras, who took the Dante Stakes at York last month, at 5-1. The Lion In Winter is 6-1 to bounce back from his defeat when odds-on for the Dante, and it is 12-1 bar.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Frankie Dettori names the horse ‘I'd put my fiver on' at The Derby this weekend
The world famous jockey, who won the Epsom Classic twice when based in Britain, has his say on the likely outcome of the 2025 Betfred Derby Frankie Dettori has named the horse once-a-year punters should 'have a fiver on'. During a 35 year career in Britain, Dettori established himself as the most recognisable figure in the sport, replacing the legendary Lester Piggott as the 'housewives' choice' at Derby time. He was crowned champion jockey three times and rode the winners of 23 British Classics, including two in the Derby on Authorized in 2007 and Golden Horn in 2015. Dettori quit Britain for good after riding at British Champion's Day in October 2023, an occasion sealed by victory on King Of Steel in the Champion Stakes. Now based in the United States, Dettori has mounts at Saratoga on Saturday, but has been keeping an eye on the field for the £1.5 million Derby the same day. He has shared his thoughts on the race in an interview for betting site Stake, for whom he is a brand ambassador. Dettori said Ryan Moore's mount Delacroix is "guaranteed to stay and he seemed very straightforward to handle." He added: "The Lion In Winter came from a long lay-off and was perhaps too fresh on his reappearance after The Dante. He looked a bit hot at the start and he's got to come back from that. 'Of course, Aidan (O'Brien) is a genius at doing things like that, bringing the horses back from bad runs, like with City Of Troy, for example, last year. But don't forget you still have to take the horse all the way around the mile and a half.' But he nailed his colours to the Ralph Beckett-trained winner of York's Dante Stakes, Pride Of Arras, who will be ridden by Rossa Ryan. "Pride Of Arras won in the style of a Derby winner in the Dante. The only thing that might muddle him is the size of the field. I suspect it will be a maximum field and he's only run twice, so it won't be easy. "He'll have to manage his way through the traffic. He does have a good cruising speed, though, and a good turn of foot. He's the one which has impressed me the most in the Derby trials. It's just the lack of experience which disadvantages him. It's very hard to win this race on only your third start, so that's the one thing which puts me off a bit. "Ruling Court is a serious horse. What he showed in the Guineas was very impressive, but it's that massive question mark, will he get a mile and a half? "We know that a mile and quarter is within his reach because he hit the line very strongly at Newmarket, but this is another two furlongs. He's an amazing, talented horse, but he's got a massive question mark to me. "Damysus looks a very solid horse, but to me Pride Of Arras was much better than him in the Dante and we expect him to improve a bit here, so the gap is looking a bit too far to bridge to me. "Pride Of Arras would be the one I'd put my fiver on. It's a very exciting race and it is wide open. We've already made a case for a good number of them, and it's very interesting."
North Wales Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Elwateen under the microscope for Oaks supplementary bid
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained filly ran a hugely meritorious race at Newmarket for one so inexperienced and despite not being entered for the Epsom Classic, that was initially where Bin Suroor pointed. She is owned by Shadwell, however, who also have the well-fancied Owen Burrows-trained Pretty Polly winner Falakeyah engaged at Epsom to put them in a quandary. 'With Elwateen and Falakeyah, it is all up for discussion. There is a chance Elwateen could be supplemented for the Oaks,' said Shadwell's racing manager, Angus Gold. 'Elwateen is also in the Coronation (at Royal Ascot). She will work early next week, we'll have a discussion with everybody together, put our heads together and see what everybody thinks, but there is certainly a chance she could be supplemented. 'We wouldn't know about stamina for Elwateen until she runs, but on pedigree she'd have no trouble staying a mile and a quarter and Jim (Crowley) said she went to the top of the hill at Newmarket, so it's just a question of if we think it's the right road to go down. 'We won't make any decisions this week, it will be early next week I'd imagine. We'll play with the extra time until Elwateen would need to be supplemented.' Regarding their suitability for Epsom, Gold said: 'We'd take into account whether Falakeyah's action would be suited to Epsom, but everyone knows now about Epsom – you never know how they'll handle it until they get there. 'Remember Nashwan was a great big horse, but he was beautifully balanced and just sailed around there. All the jockeys say you've got to travel to be able to handle it and if you are off the bridle coming down the hill you can forget it. 'Falakeyah is already in at Epsom and she's in the French Oaks, but she's not in the Coronation (Stakes) because I didn't expect Jim to say he wouldn't be against coming back to a mile like he did! 'Too much speed is a nice problem to have, in my experience it is usually the other way round! Hopefully they are two nice fillies.'
Glasgow Times
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Elwateen under the microscope for Oaks supplementary bid
The Saeed bin Suroor-trained filly ran a hugely meritorious race at Newmarket for one so inexperienced and despite not being entered for the Epsom Classic, that was initially where Bin Suroor pointed. She is owned by Shadwell, however, who also have the well-fancied Owen Burrows-trained Pretty Polly winner Falakeyah engaged at Epsom to put them in a quandary. 'With Elwateen and Falakeyah, it is all up for discussion. There is a chance Elwateen could be supplemented for the Oaks,' said Shadwell's racing manager, Angus Gold. Saeed bin Suroor at Newmarket on 1000 Guineas day (Joe Giddens/PA) 'Elwateen is also in the Coronation (at Royal Ascot). She will work early next week, we'll have a discussion with everybody together, put our heads together and see what everybody thinks, but there is certainly a chance she could be supplemented. 'We wouldn't know about stamina for Elwateen until she runs, but on pedigree she'd have no trouble staying a mile and a quarter and Jim (Crowley) said she went to the top of the hill at Newmarket, so it's just a question of if we think it's the right road to go down. 'We won't make any decisions this week, it will be early next week I'd imagine. We'll play with the extra time until Elwateen would need to be supplemented.' Regarding their suitability for Epsom, Gold said: 'We'd take into account whether Falakeyah's action would be suited to Epsom, but everyone knows now about Epsom – you never know how they'll handle it until they get there. Falakeyah was deeply impressive at Newmarket (Joe Giddens/PA) 'Remember Nashwan was a great big horse, but he was beautifully balanced and just sailed around there. All the jockeys say you've got to travel to be able to handle it and if you are off the bridle coming down the hill you can forget it. 'Falakeyah is already in at Epsom and she's in the French Oaks, but she's not in the Coronation (Stakes) because I didn't expect Jim to say he wouldn't be against coming back to a mile like he did! 'Too much speed is a nice problem to have, in my experience it is usually the other way round! Hopefully they are two nice fillies.'
