Review: Epsom Friday 6th and Saturday 7th June

 I was at Epsom for the big 2 day meeting last week and it was just about as strange a meeting as I can remember and I still couldn't tell you exactly what the ground was. The opener, Surrey Stakes, on the Friday was won by the well backed Formal (9/4) who bounced back from a disappointing display in the Fred Darling. She needs to go on from this now. I backed Saqqara Sands who finished 2nd at 13/2 so did manage a little bit of place returns, she's a filly who will improve from this and win races. The Woodcote was won well by Maximised (6/5) for Godolphin and he looked an up to scratch winner. I sided with Havana Hurricane against the favourite and he ran well to finish 2nd even though he didn't look an easy ride, he'll win more races. The Coronation Cup was one of the races of the season. I left this alone from a punting view as I felt Calandagan couldn't be trusted in a battle and the Coolmore gang were sure to make this a test with their St Leger winner in the field, Jan Brueghel. Ryan Moore's mount (7/2) was not for denying up the run-in and after being narrowly headed for a stride, he powered back to the lead and beat the odds-on favourite gamely. It will be interesting to see how he is campaigned from here on in the winner as the King George is the aim for stablemate Los Angeles and I can't see him dropping back in trip. The Arc will surely be the long-term aim given he shouldn't be inconvenienced by any sort of ground. Maybe they will target something like the Grand Prix du Saint Cloud or one of the Group ones in Germany. Although, I wouldn't be surprised if he turned up in the Goodwood Cup should Illinois fail to shine in the Gold Cup at Ascot. As for Calandagan, I think he may be better suited by dropping back in trip, surely he'll have another crack at the Juddmonte International in August. 

Jan Breughel 

The highlight of my weekend came in the 10 furlong handicap at 3.15 as I thought Ecureuil Secret looked fantastic in the parade ring for a horse having his first run of the season and was definitely worth a punt at his odds. He had been running well in graded races last season and still looked feasibly handicapped. He duly bolted at 28/1 and put me well ahead on the day. He'll run in the Wolferton Stakes at Ascot on Tuesday and that isn't tilting at windmills. The Oaks was up next and I was very much against the favourite, Desert Flower, at the prices. She had to confirm she stayed and I didn't think she was worth a bet at odds-on given she was up against some impressive trial winners. I decided to back Cheshire Oaks winner, Minnie Hauk (9/2), and Lingfield Oaks Trial winner, Giselle (13/2) against her. I was pretty happy watching the race as Desert Flower didn't handle the track very well and Minnie Hauk's stamina really came to the fore late on as she battled past front-running Whirl to get the job done by a neck. She looked well in the prelims but I still felt there was improvement in her. She'll likely go to the Irish Oaks next and probably the Yorkshire Oaks after that. If she were to take both of those races then connections must surely be tempted to take on the colts at Longchamp, however mob handed they seem to be at this distance. Whirl ran a huge race considering she forced the pace and I feel she'll be very hard to beat in the Pretty Polly, whilst Giselle looked well beforehand and is still learning. She may well go to the Curragh too and she will keep on improving. As for Desert Flower, I think she was beaten by the track more than the distance. If she were mine, I'd be heading to the Eclipse to take advantage of the weight allowance. 10 furlongs may be her optimum trip but it wouldn't surprise me if she was pointed towards the Falmouth. 

Minnie Hauk

Mirsky (9/4) ran out a ready winner of the mile handicap that came after the Oaks. I backed the runner-up Alpha Crucis who just bumped into one I'm afraid. He still looks on a fair mark and should be kept onside whenever there is juice in the ground. I did manage to find the final winner of the day in the shape of Partisan Hero (7/2) in the 7 furlong handicap. It had been a day to be on the front end and Silvestre de Sousa had his mount on the sharp end throughout. He fended off the late challenge of Golden Mind who ran a cracker at big odds again for the Richard Fahy stable. This didn't look a great race so I'm not sure how many winners will come out of it. 

Saturday was grim to say the least. I quite fancied Royal Dress to make amends for last year's defeat in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes but she never got that involved behind the ready winner Spiritual (9/1) who made all under Rab Havlin for the Gosdens. She has hinted at a performance like this in the past but consistency has been her flaw and she needs to go on from this. Being on the front end again paid the way and it would do so again that afternoon. I decided to take on the front end of the market in the Diomed but that proved a mistake as the well backed Persica ran out a ready winner for Richard Hannon and Ryan Moore. He's better with a bit of juice in the ground and will continue to pay his way. Docklands hated the track and is better than he showed here. I really don't like the Dash's at Epsom and not sure why there has to be 2 of them. I stayed away from the 3 year old Dash and was glad I did as I couldn't have picked out the winner in a month of Sundays. Stormy Impact (7/1) came from nowhere to win this up the middle of the track to continue a good meeting for Richard Fahy. I'm not sure how good a race this was to be honest. In the actual Dash I backed Existent each-way and he ran his usual race to finish 3rd. J M Jungle (6/1)landed a deserved victory here after plenty of placed efforts this season. This win will push his mark up to about 100 so things will get tougher from here on in. 

Lambourn

And then we had the Derby. An 18 runner renewal which was great for bookies but it must be said that 2000 Guinea winner Ruling Court being pulled out left a bad taste in the mouth. The ground didn't look bad enough not to run but from the moment Desert Flower was beaten in the Oaks there were negative sounds coming from the stable. The race therefore, had it's best horse on form taken out of it and we were left with a bit of a muddle. I decided to back Pride Of Arras for Beckett, and he looked a picture in the prelims but never handled the bend and didn't run his race. He was virtually pulled up but will reportedly head for the Irish Derby next where I could see him running his race. The race was won by Chester Vase hero Lambourn (13/2) who led from the start. The whole weekend had shown that there was a bias towards being ridden positively but every jockey other than Cristophe Soumillon on Lazy Gruff were not alert to it and in the end nothing ever really threatened the winner. Lambourn was freely available at 20/1 in the week but his price collapsed on the day and more so after Ruling Court was taken out. Take nothing away from the winner, who is clearly a talented colt, but this did not look a strong renewal and the winner will not be given a freebie on the front end again. He will be short odds in the Irish Derby and St Leger which look likely to be his next 2 runs. I'd imagine if they went well that he could be aimed at the Arc as he looks adaptable but it's more of a case of if he's good enough really. Time will tell. Tennessee Stud ran a mighty race from a long way back to finish 3rd and it's not inconceivable that he could get much closer at the Curragh. Expect him to line up in the Leger in September. Ralph Beckett's 2nd string, Stanhope Gardens was one of the best lookers in the parade ring and he too ran a big race to finish 5th from an unpromising position. He just tired the last 100 yards and it may be that 10 furlongs is his ideal trip. I'd be working back from the Champion Stakes with him. Delacroix was another who didn't run his race after being buffeted around going up the hill and shuffled back. Ryan Moore seemed to accept things a long way off and I could see him being aimed towards the Eclipse with Camille Pissaro. The Lion In Winter looked awful beforehand and ran terribly. He has it all to prove now and I'm not sure we will see too much more from him. 

The rain started to hammer down not long after the Derby presentation and it turned into a miserable day thereafter. I didn't manage to find any of the winners of the subsequent 3 races and actually started the trek back down to the train station before the last race. There was undoubtably a small crowd for the meeting and the hill looked sadly depressing. The weather didn't help but something does need to be done about the 2 days all together. The first thing is pricing as they keep putting the price up every year and eventually it gets to a point where people start voting with their feet. I feel the time has come to move the Oaks to the Sunday, like the 1000 Guineas, and offer a weekend ticket at a reduced rate to help improve attendance. The Derby is a great race but it is struggling to pin up the whole Saturday afternoon now. There doesn't need to be 8 races on the day and having 45 mins between races is just silly, it makes the day go on too long and people lose interest. There doesn't need to be a 3YO dash as the Dash itself is a marmite race and the top jockeys wont ride in it before the Derby. The Coronation Cup should be moved onto the Saturday to help with the build up to the Derby and give jockeys a chance to ride the full Derby course beforehand. Epsom really do need to ditch some of the dross handicaps as well. I know it is near Royal Ascot but the 3 handicaps run after the Derby were poor and nobody had any interest in them. I'd also be in favour of moving the Princess Elizabeth to the April meeting to help that day a little bit more, or the Sunday at least.. This and the Diomed aren't ever that competitive and are never really betting races. If I had my way I'd make the Saturday a 7 race card in this order: Woodcote Stakes, mile handicap, Coronation Cup, Diomed Stakes, Derby, Dash, 12 furlong handicap. This would really balance out the day more and leaves only 2 races after the Derby and running the Diomed before the Derby gives chance to breathe and being the race named after the very first winner is poignant. The race is dying and something radical needs to happen as if not we will see numbers continue to dwindle.