Hounds in Derby hunt

THE Aidan O’Brien-trained Master Of Hounds will face a maximum of 18 rivals when he bids to make history in the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs tonight.

The not-unexpected withdrawal of Uncle Mo significantly increases hopes that Master Of Hounds can become a first European-trained winner of the ‘Run for the Roses’.

Uncle Mo, brilliant winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November, met with a shock defeat in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct last month at odds of 1-10.