O’Brien pair head 16 Betfred Derby declarations as trainer bids for a tenth win

The Aidan O’Brien pair City Of Troy and Los Angeles head 16 declarations for Saturday’s Betfred Derby, which at £1.5m is Britain’s richest Flat race and is one that the trainer has already won a record nine times.

City Of Troy was the short-priced winter favourite for the Derby after his unbeaten juvenile season saw him rated head and shoulders above his contemporaries, and despite running poorly in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas on his return he is favourite once again.

O’Brien suggested after that race that he had possibly been too easy on City Of Troy, treating him “like a god”, and that the colt ran his race the wrong way around after he “charged the gates”. He has underlined the sky-high opinion he still had of him by stating that he has never sent a more talented colt to Epsom – praise indeed considering his long line of Derby stars begun by Galileo (2001) and High Chaparral (2002).

Auguste Rodin’s win 12 months ago showed that it’s possible to bounce back from a disappointing Guineas, but there has been significant support in recent days for the unbeaten Leopardstown Derby Trial winner Los Angeles, a big, impressive-looking colt who was also a Group 1-winning two-year-old and is by Derby winner Camelot. He won the trial by a length from stable-mate Euphoric, who has also been declared, and he shapes like a guaranteed stayer.

A first in 33 years for Fanshawe

The impressive Lingfield Trial winner Ambiente Friendly has proved a popular alternative in what is widely accepted to be one of the most open Derbys in years. Much of the press has focused on the replacement of Lingfield rider Callum Shepherd by veteran Rab Havlin, whose only previous Derby rides both finished down the field, but Ambiente Friendly has plenty going for him.

Fanshawe, whose sole previous Derby runner Environment Friend beat only two rivals in 1991 when carrying the same Gredley Family silks, trains from stables built by five-times Derby winning rider Fred Archer and he holds the Derby in the highest regard. 

He said: “The Derby is the Derby and a lot of things are judged on its result. It’s the premier Classic and we are really thrilled to have a runner in it. It has stood the test of time and it is a great prize. It’s a real privilege to have a horse good enough to be going there with a chance, having won his trial well over the Derby trip, and there’s a real buzz in the yard having a contender.

“He was an immature two-year-old and an elegant, later maturing type. You would hope he would get stronger as he gets older, and the real revelation was how he went around the corner at Lingfield and stayed the mile and a half. He won his trial in a good time, and he seems to have come out of the race in good shape.”

Appleby eyes third Derby

Charlie Appleby won the Derby with Masar in 2018 and with Adayar three years later, but he sadly lost what looked his best chance of a third win when Hidden Law was fatally injured after his easy win in the Chester Vase, and then Sandown Classic Trial winner Arabian Crown was ruled out after a setback just days later.

Appleby’s Dante Stakes runner-up Ancient Wisdom, beaten six lengths by Economics that day, could be viewed as the stable’s third string, but he will appreciate the stiffer test here and the trainer still understandably believes he has “a live contender”. He was a good winner on heavy ground last year of another key trial, the Futurity Stakes at Doncaster, where God’s Window, Deira Mile and recent French 2000 Guineas runner-up Dancing Gemini were among those beaten.

The Owen Burrows-trained Deira Mile, who will be ridden by Jim Crowley, is one of two runners owned by Ahmad Al Shaikh, who has dreamed of Derby success for the best part of 20 years and was second with 50-1 chance Khalifa Sat in 2020 and with 150-1 shot Hoo Ya Mal in 2022. He also runs Sayedaty Sadaty, who will be ridden by Khalifa Sat’s rider Tom Marquand and whose huge odds have been tumbling this week.

Al Shaikh’s enthusiasm for the Derby and his excitement ahead of Saturday knows no bounds. He said: “It’s the dream of any owner to have a runner in the Derby and I have two good ones. The dream for me started in 2006 because I work for the Maktoum family and I was always hearing about the Derby and their excitement about it. I don’t like short-distance horses, but I know how to choose horses for this kind of race.

I was at Epsom last week when Deira Mile galloped and I was very happy with him

“When Khalifa Sat was second it was during Covid and my country was in the red zone. I had to come from Dubai via Athens, where I spent ten days in quarantine before I was allowed to come to the UK. I then had to stay in my flat for another six or seven days before I was allowed out to Epsom, but it was worth it of course. With Hoo Ya Mal, Andrew (Balding) told me his chance was one hundred times better than his odds, and we knew he would run well.”

Of his two runners this year he said: “I was at Epsom last week when Deira Mile galloped and I was very happy with him. Jim was particularly pleased and everyone has been very happy with him since. Sayedaty Sadaty was second at Newmarket in the same Listed race as Hoo Ya Mal was second in. We’ve been planning for the Derby for both of these horses since last June, and we’ve planned the Hoo Ya Mal route for Sayedaty Sadaty since March.

One of them will definitely be in the first four or five, and maybe both of them!

“We know where we are going with these horses and I plan the strategy together with the trainers. That way you get what you want. One of them will definitely be in the first four or five, and maybe both of them!”

Kia Joorabchian has also had two long-priced Derby seconds, with Mojo Star (50-1 in 2021) and King Of Steel (66-1 last year). His Amo Racing silks will be carried by Dallas Star, the choice of David Egan and a three-length winner of Leopardstown’s Ballysax Stakes, and the maiden Mr Hampstead.

Another owner who will be doubly represented is Abdulla Al Mansoori, with outsiders Kamboo, who looked promising at two but hasn’t raced since December, and Tabletalk, who was supplemented at a cost of £75,000 following his win at Chelmsford.

More compelling however are Macduff, who was second to Arabian Crown in the Sandown Trial and looks sure to appreciate the stiffer test, Bellum Justum, a shorter-priced stable-mate of Sayedaty Sadaty and the only previous course winner in the field, and Voyage, who was an exciting winner on his debut at Newbury last month and pleased connections when he galloped at Epsom last week.