Macduff and Rossa Ryan work at Epsom

Betfred Derby latest: Graham Clark gets the inside track from Epsom

By Graham Clark

11:40 · WED May 22, 2024

Our man at the Derby gallops morning Graham Clark gets the latest from four teams firmly dreaming of Classic glory.

Derby dream will and truly alive

Anyone that feels the lustre of the Betfred Derby might have lost some of the gloss and glamour of years gone by only needed to see those putting contenders for this year’s race through their paces at Epsom Downs today to see that could not be further from the truth.

While in the world of breeding there is now a growing emphasis towards speed over stamina there is little doubt that to many owners, big or small, that having a runner in the world’s most famous Classic still remains high on the bucket list.

For some it will be an experience that comes and goes on a yearly basis, but to others it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity that with it can produce memories to last a lifetime should that dream be turned into reality.

Epitomising that enthusiasm during this year's Betfred Derby Festival Gallops Morning was owner Ahmad Al Shaikh.

And having finished second in the race with 50/1 chance Khalifa Sat in the 2020 renewal and 150/1 outsider Hoo Ya Mal in 2022 the passionate owner hopes Deira Mile can secure him a success he has long craved for.

Owen Burrows, Jim Crowley and Deira Mile

Working under Jim Crowley alongside stablemate Marhaba Million over a mile the last time Windsor scorer handled the camber of the track particularly well to suggest he could be another lively outsider for the Green Team Racing founder.

Al Shaikh said: “Everybody loves the Derby. I’ve been second in it two times and I hope, and pray, that this horse can go one better. If you don’t try for it you can’t reach it. Last year in May I told his then trainer, and some of your press colleagues, that Deira Mile is my horse for next year’s Derby and here we are. He is by Camelot, and he has a better pedigree for the Derby than Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal.

“Jim (Crowley) was very happy and said he felt better than when he won at Windsor. He liked the ground out there today, and he was very comfortable with the track for his first time around Epsom. He is better than both Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal and last year he ran a great race in the Group One at Doncaster.

“To tell you the truth, the two outsiders that finished second were a fair price, but Deira Mile I don’t think is a 66-1 chance. If he was 20-1 I think he would be a fair price, but maybe the bookmakers know better than me!”

Wood wait is nearly over

The long wait to have a runner in the Derby is finally nearing its conclusion for owner Julie Wood, who was on hand alongside trainer Richard Hannon to see Newbury maiden scorer Voyage test his credentials on the track.

And having passed the test with flying colours alongside lead horse, and stablemate Sam Hawkens, it left the Group One winning owner with an even broader smile on her already cheerful face.

Woods said: “What a wonderful lead up and you can’t beat being part of it. I’ve been waiting for years to get one good enough to line up in the Derby and this is it. I always throw, as Richard knows, a stayer every year into the fold hoping that I will be good enough to get one to line up here and this was the lad. He has got the right page for it, but I just want to enjoy the moment, and it is good to be in a place like this.

"It is nice that they let you run around this track as it is so unique. To be able to have a sluice around and come around Tattenham Corner it is just what you want.
He is bred to stay and that is what he did in spades. That Newbury race is always a good maiden and it always throws up nice horses.

“There was no question after he won at Newbury that the Derby would be next as that was the hope for him all the way through. Today was a good away day. It is a concern that he has only had one run, but this will do him good mentally."

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Teal ready to roll the dice

For many years while based in Epsom trainer Roger Teal would wonder what it would be like to saddle a runner in the Derby.

However, after watching French 2000 Guineas runner-up Dancing Gemini stride out impressively at the track today he will sample a taste of action from the other side of the fence after confirming his stable star for the June 1st feature.

Teal said: “I was very happy with it and he looked very good coming down the hill to me. William (Cox, jockey) was delighted with him and he said he handled the track beautifully.

“I think we are going to roll our sleeves up and come here. It is very tempting to go back to France, but it would be lovely to win the English Derby, or at least have a crack at it. To come here with a live contender is wonderful and it is exciting for all the team.

“We had these discussions (about the Derby) last year. He is a very speedy horse, but he has also got the breeding to be a mile and a half horse. On breeding he is bred to get the trip, and he has such a relaxed manner about him that you can put him to sleep, then hopefully he can use his burst of speed towards the end of the race.

"He is not guaranteed to stay as no horse is, but on paper he has more of a chance of staying than he hasn’t. I literally worked across near the Derby start and I used to stand in Philip (Mitchell’s) garden for years and watch the runners go by so it is nice to be on the other side of the fence. It will be very exciting, and nerve wracking as I probably won’t sleep much for a few days before. I'm very excited to be involved in it, which is something I thought would never be, but here we go.”

The Dancing Gemini team

While being able to recall many previous winners of the Derby it is a race that for David Fish, who owns Dancing Gemini with his wife Linda, under the Fishdance Limited banner, also evokes memories of birthday presents from the past.

And while under no illusions of the task in hand facing the Camelot colt, who recently finished second in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, it would provide the Leicester based owner with the perfect late birthday present.

He said: “I used to come to the Derby with my dad. He was a baker and he had no money, but he loved the horses. My birthday is on May 31st and depending on what success he had in the Derby depended on what present I got. I remember one year he backed a 66-1 winner and I got a bike!

“We genuinely wanted to come here today to see how he handled the track as he has never been down a dip before. William (Cox) said he didn’t change legs and that he went around beautifully and that was when we made the decision (to go for the race). This is a 15 year project, but we don’t get nervous as we are not expected to win.”

Beckett ready for his own finals

The up and coming Championship play-off final on Sunday is on the mind of trainer Ralph Beckett, who has his ticket secured to watch his beloved Leeds United take on Southampton at Wembley Stadium in the race to reach the Premiership.

But for this morning his attention was very much centred around his rising star Macduff, and his preparation for a tilt at the Derby, which according to the Kimpton Down Stables handler went to script.

Beckett said: “He did what we hoped he would do. He is a very straightforward customer and he has got the right mindset for as well. He very much enjoys his work and gets on with it. He is a very well balanced horse.

"We came here because he hasn’t run since April 26th and we wanted to go somewhere and do something and this fitted very well. When he ran at Sandown the horses were running okay, but they weren’t really winning so it was a good effort. You would hope he would come forward for it significantly.

“He is out of a Bated Breath mare, that is a sister to Kingman, so there is plenty of speed there, but he shapes more like Sea The Stars over Bated Breath or Kingman in my view. In terms of the way he is made, and the way he trains, there is more cause for optimism as we go up in trip.

“Based on what we know he shouldn’t have any problems with the occasion as he never given us any cause for concern, unlike Westover he doesn’t need managing. It makes life a lot easier, and less stressful so we will see what happens.

“Rossa (Ryan) is confident he will cope with the downhill nature of the track on Saturday week, and we were before he came, it was more of a day out than anything else."

For those who might still need persuading to be convinced that the Derby might be a shadow of its former self it is perhaps left to Beckett to suggest otherwise.

He added: “It is what we all aspire to win. As a trainer, and an Englishman, there is nothing more important.”

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