Johnston hits out at 'ridiculous' Derby entry system

BRITAIN’S premier Classic took a knock after Fight Your Corner bounced back from a poor reappearance effort to give Mark Johnston his second Vodafone Derby trial victory in 10 days at Chester yesterday.

The winning trainer immediately hit out at the ‘‘ridiculous’’ entry system for the Epsom contest which means neither this colt nor recent Heathorns Classic Trial-winning stablemate Simeon is engaged - both will be aimed at the French Derby instead.

Johnston is upset that horses need to be put in the Derby as unraced yearlings, or added at great expense at the second-entry or supplementary stage.

Fight Your Corner’s absence from the field looked no great loss as he trailed in a well-beaten seventh when favourite for the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket last month.

But the colt, a three-time winner as a juvenile, left that effort well behind in the Victor Chandler Chester Vase even though nothing went to plan for jockey Kevin Darley in the Group Three mile-and-a-half event.

His mount could not go the initial pace so plans to makes the running had to be scrapped, and the three-year-old found himself boxed in on the rail to boot in the early stages.

But once switched to the outside he quickened smartly to sit on the heels of front-running Sparkling Water turning for home and then showed a fine burst of speed to lead in the straight for a two-and-a-half-length win.

‘‘Regrettably he is not in the Derby but if you put all your 15,500-guinea yearlings in you will nearly be paying for the race,’’ Johnston said afterwards.

‘‘It is a ridiculous entry system and something will have to be done about it or Classic trials will be a waste of time. This is the second Derby trial we have won with a horse who is not entered.’’

Johnston was at least happy that Fight Your Corner had proven his Newmarket effort all wrong, albeit not in the way that had been planned.

‘‘At Newmarket he looked uncomfortable so we wanted to jump out and settle in front but he missed the break and he was in trouble for the first half of the race they went an unbelievable pace,’’ the trainer said.

‘‘Everything went opposite to plan and it is good that he still got out of it and won. He had been getting lazy and in hindsight this might be a good thing as it could make a man of him.

‘‘It is highly unlikely he will be supplemented for the Derby. He is in the French Derby and the King Edward VII Stakes and those are the races we will look at.

‘‘He will certainly stay further than a mile and a half and we will consider the St Leger later in the season.’’

Darley will now have to choose between Fight Your Corner and Simeon at Chantilly on June 2.

‘‘Fight Your Corner had an off-day at Newmarket but he felt totally different today, even cantering down to the start,’’ said the jockey, who won the French Derby on Celtic Swing in 1995.

‘‘And he showed something today he has not shown before - a turn of foot.’’

There were more positive Epsom Classic clues as Fragrant View made all in the 10 1/2-furlong Bryant Homes Maiden Stakes.

Her three-and-a-half-length triumph under Richard Hughes paid a big complement to her recent Newbury conqueror Islington.

‘‘I think she will get a mile and a half and the Oaks is a possibility,’’ said trainer Barry Hills, who does

not fear a rematch with the Newbury winner.

‘‘We have always thought a lot of her. There was a moderate pace at Newbury and Islington got first run on her.’’