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Saturday 1 June 2013

Derby Day !



The Derby looks a fascinating affair and I will be hoping for the Burke's to win with Libertarian having won the Dante.

However this is a sprint based blog so on to the dash. Firstly there are plenty of horses on the stand side that will be pushing to lead namely last years winner Stone Of Folca drawn 15, 2011 winner Captain Dunne drawn 18, Top Cop drawn 20 and Fair Value drawn 13. On the far side there is Robert Cowell's new challenge Jiroft, drawn 2 and also La Fortunata drawn 6 and we have to work out which side is going to take them along into  the race. I'm going to plump with the historical stand side which has had an advantage in the past although this has been tapered recently.
Bang in the middle of the field there appears to be a group of hold up horses Ajjaadd, Doctor Parkes, Confessional and Humidor so they will allow those drawn low to maybe move over to join the others but I can see Stone Of Folca and Captain Dunne leading with prominent racers Long Awaited and Duke of Firenze waiting to pounce.
Sir Michael Stoute's only runner on Derby day is Duke Of Firenze and Stoute isnt usually known to be associated with sprinters but this year he has a few in that sphere and Fallon was impressed with his speed at Goodwood, another fast track, when winning on his run before last. Last time out at York he finished 5th behind Kingsgate Choice  beaten 1 3/4 lengths but he was a little unlucky there and the stable will be keen to win something today.
Long Awaited is another that has solid credentials having won well here last season and he goes well fresh so David Barron is sure to have him ready for this which must have been a target for sometime.
Two trainers with good records in the race are Stuart Williams and David Nichols, however the former probably has a numerical better record with 6 runners in the last 10 years or so providing 2 winners and 2 placed and his entry today is Doctor Parkes who beat Captain Dunne a length at Chester in 2011 receiving 15lb, receives 7lb today.
It's going to be a blanket finish with several involved at the line and I'm hoping Ryan Moore can get Duke Of Firenze (1st 5/1 adv at 8/1) in the front where it matters.
For any tote pool bets I would be looking at Duke Of Firenze, Long Awaited, Stone Of Folca and Captain Dunne who are all well drawn.