Talking Horses: Six key questions ahead of the 243rd Epsom Derby
Desert Crown showed some star quality when winning the Dante Stakes at York and may be able to defy his inexperience in the Epsom Derby. Picture: Healy Racing
Having won the Dante Stakes at York in fine style, Desert Crown is the right favourite for the 243rd renewal of the Epsom Derby. The Michael Stoute-trained colt won his maiden on soft ground in Nottingham last November before a slight spring hold-up delayed his return until the Dante. The fact he was backed for the Derby ahead of that York assignment strongly suggested he was showing connections’ the right signs and he backed up those positive vibes with a smooth success on the Knavesmire. That was over 10 furlongs but the step up to a mile and a half shouldn’t be an issue and reports of an impressive recent piece of work with 112-rated stablemate Solid Stone only add to his appeal.
One obvious concern for Desert Crown supporters is his lack of experience with Stoute himself admitting he’d have liked to given the son of Nathaniel a run or two extra ahead of his date with destiny. It’s a legitimate concern given as recently as 2017, Cracksman could only finish third in the Derby on his third career start before proving himself the best colt of his generation later that season.
However, Workforce, the most recent of Stoute’s five previous Derby winners, won the Derby on his third start when storming to victory in the 2010 Classic in a course-record time, a victory that proved ability can trump inexperience.
The Derby inexperience of Desert Crown’s jockey Richard Kingscote could also be viewed as a negative for the favourite. Kingscote has only ridden in the world’s most famous Classic once and that wasn’t a pleasant experience as his mount, Knight To Behold, beat only rival home in the 2018 Derby.
Against that, Kingscote enjoyed Classic success as far back as 2014 when steering Brown Panther to victory in the Irish St Leger. He hasn’t had a flagship horse like him since but he has consistently ridden over 100 winners a season since 2016, Statistics that suggest that if Desert Crown does fall short today it won’t be because of his jockey.
A sixth Derby success for the Michael Stoute 41 years after Shergar gave him his first would be a huge story and it may well come to pass courtesy of Desert Crown. Recent times have been difficult for Stoute as Coral Pritchard-Gordon, his long-term partner, died in August 2020 and, now aged 76, the veteran trainer may not get a better chance to add to his Derby haul.
From an Irish perspective, the most compelling story would surely be if Donnacha O’Brien upstages his legendary father Aidan by training a Derby winner at the age of just 23.
Unlike his brother Joseph, Donnacha never won the Epsom Derby as a jockey but his Piz Badile, last seen winning the Ballysax Stakes in April, is an intriguing each-way contender in the hands of Frankie Dettori.
In the absence of the injured Luxembourg, the Irish challenge is more solid than spectacular. As per usual, Aidan O’Brien dominated the Derby trials with Changingoftheeguard and Star Of India winning at Chester before Stone Age jumped to the top of the Ballydoyle pecking order when winning the race formerly known as the Derrinstown at Leopardstown.
Winless in five starts as a two-year-old, the Galileo colt has looked a different beast at three and this uncomplicated colt won’t go down without a massive fight. If an Irish horse is to prevail, it will most likely to be him.
On recent history, there has to be. You have to go back to Golden Horn in 2015 to find the last winning favourite and since then the race has been won by a 40-1 shot (Wings Of Eagles, 2017), a 25-1 shot (Serpentine, 2020), and two 16-1 shots (Masar 2018 and Adayar 2022). That’s perhaps not altogether surprising given how early the Derby comes in a horse’s career.
If there is to be a surprise this year, Walk Of Stars could be the horse to provide it. The Charlie Appleby-trained Dubawi colt has a similar profile to last year’s hero Adayar in that he will arrive at Epsom having been turned over when expected to deliver in his Lingfield trial. He will obviously have to have taken a massive leap forward from that effort to land a blow here but he has reportedly done so and the step up to a mile and a half should really suit.
His inexperience is a nagging worry but the sense is Desert Crown is the most talented horse in this year’s Derby. Stone Age looks sure to run a big race for Ballydoyle while Walk Of Stars has decent each-way claims for Godolphin.
