Timeform big race preview: English King ready to be crowned in Investec Derby

The Top-Rated

Kameko (Timeform weight-adjusted rating: 142)

Kameko developed into one of the best two-year-olds around last season, notably winning the Futurity Trophy at Newcastle on his final start, and he took another significant step forward after seven months off when winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. Always travelling smoothly just behind the leaders, Kameko briefly had to wait for a gap entering the final furlong but stayed on strongly once in the clear, ultimately getting on top close home to land the spoils by a neck by Wichita. That form is comfortably the best on offer in this line-up, but the big question that remains for Kameko is whether he’ll stay the extra half a mile at Epsom, his stamina being far from assured on pedigree. His sire, Kitten’s Joy, was a Grade 1 winner over a mile and a half in the US, but several of the most talented performers on the distaff side of Kameko’s pedigree showed their best form up to a mile.

The Improver

English King (131p)

English King went into the Lingfield Derby Trial race as just the winner of a Newcastle maiden on his final two-year-old start, but the manner of his success at Lingfield identified him as potentially a colt out of the very top drawer. Stamina was tested thoroughly in a race run at a strong gallop, but it was the speed demonstrated by English King that impressed as much as anything, barely needing to come off the bridle as he stretched clear to win easily by two and three quarter lengths. Admittedly, the bare form of that performance is a long way below what Kameko has achieved, but the runner-up Berkshire Rocco is a useful sort in his own right, as he showed when chasing home Santiago – the subsequent Irish Derby winner – in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot. English King hasn’t yet shown all that he has to offer and he rates a fascinating contender.

The Timeform Flag

Emissary (125p) (Horse In Focus & Trainer Form)

Khalifa Sat and Emissary fought out the finish to the listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood, with the former showing a good attitude to land the spoils. He provides Kameko’s trainer Andrew Balding with a second string to his bow, but Emissary is perhaps the better long-term prospect of the pair. A ready winner of his only two-year-old start at Wolverhampton, he arguably shaped best in going down by just a neck at Goodwood, where he conceded both experience (still green) and track position to the game winner. A half-brother to the 2010 Derby winner Workforce, Emissary remains with potential and could outrun his odds if this test doesn’t come too soon in his fledgling career, representing the in-form Hugo Palmer yard that plundered last weekend’s big prize, the Northumberland Plate.

Timeform weight-adjusted ratings

142 Kameko

133p Russian Emperor

131p English King

129p Vatican City

128p Highland Chief

125p Emissary

Verdict

Kameko sets the standard on form but isn’t certain to stay this far on pedigree, so he could be worth opposing with the exciting English King. The latter’s success in the Lingfield Derby Trial could hardly have been achieved with more ease, demonstrating all the qualities needed to excel at Epsom. He looks capable of taking another significant step forward and is fancied to provide jockey Frankie Dettori with a third win in the blue riband.

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