Trainer Ralph Beckett

Nick Luck Daily Podcast: Ralph Beckett on Derby entries

By David Ord

Horse Racing

Thu February 27, 2025 · 10M ago

There are 56 British-trained Betfred Derby entries among the total of 91 and Ralph Beckett has 12 of them - he took Nick Luck through the full team.

They include a host of maiden winners, some proven at Group level, and it's at the time of the year when every owner and trainer is entitled to dream the dream.

Beckett was a guest on Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast and went through the full dozen on the 'Road to Epsom' at this early sage.

He said: “My first thought would be let’s hope a few of them show up and we have a chance when they do.

"It’s a great problem to have, nice horses, there’s a couple who’ve already done it at stakes level and plenty there who won their maidens and looked like they’d get better at three. We’ll hopefully keep them all healthy and sound, run them in the right trials and then whatever happens, happens.”

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The Beckett-trained Derby entries

Stanhope Gardens: "He’s very much in the mould of his dam who was not much more than a rabbit but got better at three. He's an athletic, strong colt. If you asked me at the beginning of June, I'm not sure I'd have thought he was a horse who would be touched off in a Group Three in October. I always felt in that sense he overachieved at two. He’ll find his level and let’s hope it’s this level. It would be especially poignant if he did given I bought him for Richard Morecombe who died last October."

Starzintheireyes: “He took a long time to get on top in the Zetland, I certainly don't think the Derby trip will be a problem. You wouldn’t look at him and think ‘he’s a big staying type’ but he's very much a strong colt and the trip will be well within his compass."

Matauri Bay: “He had a nightmare journey over to France before his final run. He took forever to get there; French customs threw a spanner in the works. As a result of that I remember coming out of the paddock and saying, ‘he’ll either win it or nearly finish last’ and it was sadly the latter. He’s a light-framed sort of horse, Epsom shouldn't hold any fears for him, and I certainly hope he’s good enough."

Sir Dinadan: "The Pontefract race was a good fit for him, but I don’t think anyone thought he’d win like that. He’s a big, strong boy who handles everything that's thrown at him. I've always been a huge fan of the horse as an individual and he’s another I hope is good enough.”

Seacruiser: “He’s very much changed shape through the winter, he’s grown and got longer, gone through various stages physically and the next couple of months will tell us where we are. He’s a horse I’ve always liked and one who when we took him away for a gallop before his debut, he showed up well. So, it wasn’t a surprise he turned out the way he has."

Aurel: “He surprised us on debut, I don’t think any of us thought he’d do that. He’s done well over the winter and us perhaps the most forward of them all at this stage. We’ll see how that develops, if he’s not good enough for a Derby, he’ll certainly have a German Deby on his radar as well. We’ll see how it pans out, but he has the pedigree for it so there’s every hope.”

Calla Lagoon after winning at Ascot

Pinhole & Calla Lagoon: “I thought Calla Lagoon did very well to win his maiden, he had to run through a tight gap and then perhaps wasn’t quite ready for the Silver Tankard but it did him plenty of good in terms of his progression and education. He's a very straightforward horse and obviously the last horse the owner ran in the Derby who finished second in the Silver Tankard was Westover and it would be nice if he’s as good as him!

“It's funny, Pinhole didn’t work particularly well before he won his maiden. Obviously, we got him when Sir Michael Stoute retired, and I was surprised when he did it like that at Southwell so we’ll see how he develops. A big, strong horse, a bit like Seacruiser in the developmental stage still, but I can see him becoming a different shape as the year progresses. It’s great he’s achieved what he has already.”

Centrigrade: “It wasn’t very soft ground when he was touched off on debut at Sandown. He had a very hard race that day and it took him a long time to get over it, in fact it was two months before we were able to run him again and that’s just because he went into a dip.

"I'm not convinced the ground he won on at Newbury is what he wants, I was just pleased that he had such an easy trip round and clearly enjoyed himself there having had a harder race than I’d have liked on debut. He's come out of it very well, a tall, athletic sort of horse and I don’t think Epsom will be a problem. He's bred to be good enough and I hope he is."

Pride Of Arras: “He’d shown up well at home and New Bay is a stallion who’s been very good to us and obviously the mare goes back to Brian Boru and all that family. It’s a really good page, he too, a bit like Centigrade, went into a but of a dip after Sandown and we decided to leave him alone. He’s a big lad who should progress through the year as well. I’m looking forward to him and it would be lovely to have a really nice horse for the owners. The first yearling order I ever had was for Mrs Aykroyd."

I Am I Said impresses at Newmarket

I Am I Said: “He was sort of unexpected when winning on debut at Newmarket, I thought Too Don Juan had a better chance than him going in but Richard Kingscote has ridden a lot of big-price winners for us over the last 20 yeas nearly and in his normal fashion left the horse alone to find his feet and away he went.

"He's a handy sort of horse; he's not a big horse by any stretch and sort of reminds me very much of Max Vega. I hope he's as good as him, who we had to retire after the St Simon Stakes last autumn. He’s very much in the mould of that horse and I hope he has as long a career as him too."

Push The Limit: “A very late foal and very immature mentally last year. He took a long time to work out what was required, Hector Crouch gave him the prefect introduction around Kempton. We'll see what he can do on the grass, but you'd expect with that page, physique and profile that he will develop into a nice horse this year. How nice, we’ll find out."

Nick Luck Daily Podcast: Ralph Beckett on Derby entries

The Beckett-trained Derby entries

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