Casual a very serious contender

Big race rides are nothing new to Pat Smullen, but going to Epsom with a live chance in a classic is not exactly something that comes around every day. DECLAN COLLEY spoke to him about his prospects.

LEVEL-HEADED, focussed and implacable as he is, Pat Smullen is buzzing. It’s not every year that Dermot Weld’s number one jockey goes to the fabled Surrey Downs with a fancied runner in one of the most important races on the flat calendar.

It may be that Chinese White was a big disappointment for the yard in yesterday’s Oaks, but today he gets the leg-up on Casual Conquest in the Derby and he makes no bones about how good that makes him feel.