Mike Cattermole says Permian could be over-priced in the Derby

PERMIAN – DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HIM

Every time the Dante Meeting comes round, one is obviously reminded about the north’s last Derby winner who famously triumphed at Newmarket just after the war ended in 1945.

Dante, trained by Matt Peacock, had ended a 76-year wait as the previous Derby winner trained in the north before him was another Middleham-trained colt, Pretender, who had won the Blue Riband in 1869. It doesn’t take a great mathematician to work out that another one is due around now.

After all, with proven top-class trainers such as Mark Johnston, Richard Fahey, David O’Meara and Karl Burke all in the vicinity, why not?

So, can the Johnston-trained Permian, winner of Thursday’s Dante Stakes, gain another famous win for Middleham? 

Make no mistake, Permian is improving fast and he won the Dante pretty decisively on his tenth career start. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed is rightly stumping up the £85,000 supplement to put him in the Investec Derby where he will most probably line up as the most experienced runner.

That can only serve him in good stead. Yet Permian was a late foal – May 1, he has only just turned three – and you would imagine that he has more progress to make. He hit the line strongly at York and is bred to stay the trip at Epsom. He is also blessed with a real trier’s attitude and a very good turn of foot. 

Interestingly, he became a little unbalanced in the closing stages of the Dante, edging both left and right, but it didn’t stop him going forward.

Imagine – a potential Derby winner who had been beaten in a Bath handicap (off a mark of 100) just five weeks ago!

In between, of course, he had won extremely impressively at Newmarket and been beaten a short-head by Cracksman in the Derby Trial at Epsom. There is no doubt that Permian’s Dante win was a boost to Cracksman in his absence but Permian should never be around four times the price of the John Gosden-trained colt for the Derby. That is ridiculous.

I do wonder if Cracksman’s connections will come to regret missing the Dante – I understand it was more the owner’s reluctance to line up rather than the trainer’s – as he would have got more valuable experience. That said, with just 16 days this year until the big one, and thus avoiding a hard race, it might yet prove a masterstroke.

The Derby Trial that Cracksman had won from Permian is now looking hot as Bay Of Poets, beaten a length and three quarters, went down by a length and a half to Cliffs Of Moher in the Dee Stakes last week.

Benbatl ran a cracker in second in the Dante and that could put him in the picture too. His pedigree suggests that he will be suited by a mile and a half. He couldn’t match Permian’s turn of foot here but paid a compliment to Eminent who had beaten him into third the Craven Stakes, when the pair were split by subsequent French Guineas third, Rivet. 

For me, Eminent was a little disappointing in the Guineas and is now almost the forgotten horse for the Derby.

The fact that Rekindling, winner of the Ballysax Stakes (when he accounted for the subsequent Aidan O’Brien-trained Derrinstown 1-2-3) was only fourth in the Dante gives the form some substance and, overall, I have to conclude that Permian is going to run a big race on June 3.

Click here for the latest Sky Bet odds on the Investec Derby - including 12/1 on Permian

SHUTTER SPEED LOOKS SPECIAL, BUT SO DOES SOBETSU

She may not be Investec Oaks-bound but Shutter Speed looked a very good filly as she extended her unbeaten record in the Musidora Stakes. The French Oaks, over a furlong and a half shorter than Epsom, looks ideal for her.

Of course it helps that John Gosden and owner Khalid Abdullah have Enable lined up for Epsom after her decisive win in the Cheshire Oaks, which to these eyes looks better every time I view the video.

It was interesting to hear Frankie Dettori say that Shutter Speed wasn’t liking the soft ground at York because I thought she handled it well. 

You do wonder what the ground will be like at Chantilly for the Prix de Diane on June 18 as the Godolphin team hope there is some cut for Sobetsu who could not have been more impressive in the Prix Saint-Alary at Deauville last Sunday.

Shutter Speed will not have things all her own way with Sobetsu in the line-up and this looks a clash well worth waiting for.

HUGHIE MORRISON NEEDS SOME ANSWERS

Marcus Armytage, in the Daily Telegraph, revealed the ongoing BHA investigation into the anabolic steroid found in the Hughie Morrison-trained Our Little Sister at Wolverhampton on January 14.

This is an odd story. First up, the steroid clearly did nothing for Our Little Sister who finish last of the eight runners in the Betway Marathon Handicap, having started at 12/1.

Morrison believes he may have been targeted and yet if he was, it seems a haphazard way to go about it, seeing as there was no guarantee that Our Little Sister would be the one chosen for random testing after the race. Did somebody know she was going to be tested, perhaps?

Morrison has offered a reward of £10,000 for any information to help him solve the mystery, which could seem him lose his licence for a period if found guilty.

“POUNDLAND HILL” - WHAT’S ALL THAT ABOUT?

This was another curious story that had me scratching my head last week. 

On the day that Investec extended their sponsorship of the Derby until 2026 – which is good news – it was announced that Investec’s connection with fellow South African-owned Steinhoff International, recent purchasers of Poundland, meant that the famous Hill in the centre of The Downs, was being branded “Poundland Hill”.

The Hill is on common land and millions have gathered there over the decades to watch The Derby free of charge. It belongs to the people and doesn’t need a sponsor or new name. So the Poundland link will give the race a higher profile? I can’t buy that.

The Derby has always had a glamorous and far-reaching appeal and for the hosts to team up with a bargain-basement high street brand (albeit a very successful one) is questionable in itself as it seems, on the face of it, an odd match-up.  

I also doubt that people will start referring to The Hill as “Poundland Hill” any time soon. Good luck with that.