Richard Kingscote and Desert Crown after the 2022 Derby
Cazoo Derby Stakes 2022 analysis | Stoute has found a Crown jewel
By Ben Linfoot
09:44 · MON June 06, 2022
Ben Linfoot reflects on the explosive victory of Sir Michael Stoute's Desert Crown in the 242nd Cazoo Derby at Epsom on Saturday afternoon.
As Epsom security wrestled with protesters on the track, a flurry of fireworks were let off from the top of the main grandstand to signal the imminent Platinum Jubilee Derby at Epsom on Saturday afternoon.
The Queen wasn't in attendance, for only the fifth time in the last 70 years, but there was a new equine king crowned on the turf, DESERT CROWN, who stormed to Cazoo Derby (run in the memory of Lester Piggott) success in grand style, on just his third start, incredibly, carving his name into the folklore of this 242-year-old horse race.
It remains to be seen if this was a great Derby – the presence of 150/1 outsider Hoo Ya Mal in second suggests we should retain our betting slips on that score – but there is no doubt we saw a great winner on the day for Sir Michael Stoute, winning his sixth renewal of the race.
His first, Shergar, still has a special place in racing history 41 years on, his 10-length record winning margin not troubled in the end – although you couldn’t have confidently bet against that at the two-furlong marker.
That was the shiver down the spine moment. Tanking all over his rivals, Desert Crown had moved to the front under a motionless Richard Kingscote, having just his second ride in the Epsom Classic, and a quarter of a mile from home he asked the son of Nathaniel to go and win his Derby.
The response was immediate. In a flash he was five lengths clear. Kingscote only resorted to one half-hearted crack of the whip but he didn’t need that. This was imperious dominance and Kingscote knew it. He checked the big screen, checked over his right shoulder, but there was no danger.
An eased-down two-and-a-half length winner, this wasn’t quite Shergar, but it was a very classy performance and one that didn’t look in doubt the whole way around.
Click here for the 2022 Derby report and reaction
It all went so smoothly. He looked an absolute picture beforehand, went down to the start without fuss and was last in the stalls. The all important first two furlongs went like a dream. He broke well, got a prominent pitch from stall 12 and then sat just off the leaders without expending vital energy.
Desert Crown was relaxed and in the groove, lobbing along as he tracked the Aidan O’Brien-trained pair, Stone Age and Star Of India, in fifth position.
Kingscote had him just where he wanted him and his mount glided around Tattenham Corner, dancing his way into space around the under-pressure and tiring Star Of India. Straightened up three out, everything else was under the pump. Desert Crown wasn’t.
And we’re back to the shiver down the spine moment.
Stoute-watchers noticed the 76-year-old trainer’s confidence in the build-up to the Derby. There was the obvious glow after the Dante victory. There was the piece of work with Solid Stone. He knew he had another very good one and this Derby success doesn’t half prove it.
It has been a tough time for Stoute. His partner Coral Pritchard-Gordon died in August 2020 and if we’re measuring his success on the track by Derby horses he had had three runners since his last winner, Workforce, in 2010, and none troubled the judge.
So it is pleasing to see Stoute find another top-notcher at this stage in his life. Such a skilful trainer, one whose patience and ability to improve horses with age is revered, and now he has the opportunity to plot a Group One campaign with the most impressive of Derby winners.
He enjoyed this, too. He strolled over to Desert Crown after the race, walking down the centre of the track like a man on top of the world, tipping his top hat to the snappers as he went to see his new Derby hero.
His last Derby winner, Workforce, went and won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe later that season, back in 2010. Desert Crown is 2/1 from 8s for the Parisian highlight and he certainly deserves top billing at the moment after this.
Stoute is back in the big time. And what he does from here with Desert Crown is just as exciting as that split second he hit the front with two to go. This was Desert Crown announcing himself. A Derby winner to remember.
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Derby Day Eyecatchers
WESTOVER (Ralph Beckett) – It’s hard to argue there was an unlucky horse in the Derby given Desert Crown’s dominance, but WESTOVER would certainly have been second but for crucial interference between three out and two out. Rob Hornby had to switch his mount on the camber and come right around Stone Age, losing vital lengths, and the way he finished with a rattle to get up for third, beaten just a head by Hoo Ya Mal for second, makes this a very good run indeed. The son of Frankel shapes like a strong stayer, so it’s no wonder he was cut to 5/1 favourite in most places for the St Leger following the most encouraging of performances with Doncaster in mind.
WAR HORSE (Marco Botti) – There was plenty to unpick from the opener on Derby day with William Buick being left in the stalls after he received a whack in the face from Approachability who took a dislike to the jockeys’ championship leader. The loose Blue Trail may well have cost Grenoble victory in the dying strides but William Haggas’ runner-up looks far from straightforward and may not be one to follow in the long-term. Marco Botti’s, WAR HORSE, the third home, looks much more likely to pay his way, this a fine effort from off the pace as he stayed on for a three-quarter length defeat. He’s straightforward and versatile; he seems to go left-handed, right-handed, and on both undulating and flatter tracks, so the options for him will be plentiful. I’d like to see him in the bet365 Handicap (the heritage handicap that Mark Johnston does so well in at Newmarket’s July meeting) as he looks just the type to thrive in that sort of race with 10-furlongs looking his trip.
Fast Results
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