CHANTILLY AND EPSOM NEWS:THE EPSOM Derby and Aidan O'Brien's plans for the English Classic may be dominating most of the build-up to next weekend but Ireland's champion trainer will also have an eye on Paris where Westphalia could end up flying the Ballydoyle flag in the French Derby.
The Prix Du Jockey Club has not been a particularly kind race to O’Brien in the dozen years since his first runner, Saratoga Springs, finished just out of the frame at Chantilly in 1997.
Last year Achill Island beat just one home behind Vision D’Etat in the 10½-furlong Classic and Chinese Whisper also suffered the same fate in 2007. Aussie Rules did better in 2006, finishing seventh.
However, O’Brien plans to take another crack at the Jockey Club in eight days’ time and said yesterday: “Westphalia, Drumbeat, Malibu Bay and Set Sail are the hopefuls so far.”
Westphalia will be making a third visit to France this year. He opened the 2009 campaign by finishing runner-up to Silver Frost in the Prix De Fontainebleau in April and after a less-than-clear passage in the French 2,000 Guineas back at Longhcamp, last season’s Champagne Stakes winner was promoted to third in the stewards room.
Drumbeat also fluffed some Classic lines in last weekend’s Irish 2,000 Guineas as he faded to sixth behind his stable companion Mastercraftsman at the Curragh.
On the Epsom front, speculation continues about which of the nine-strong Ballydoyle entry Johnny Murtagh will ride about after a week of sustained support for Rip Van Winkle in ante-post betting but there has been renewed support for his stable companion Fame And Glory who is now as low as 11 to 4 favourite in some lists.
Murtagh is scheduled to ride work on some of the Epsom team over the next few days before making his decision on which horse he will attempt to secure a fourth Derby success next Saturday.
Uncertainty over jockey plans hasn’t stopped some punters investing in the O’Brien-trained Masterofthehorse with Paddy Power yesterday reporting sustained support for the brother to the 2006 Oaks heroine, Alexandrova. Masterofthehorse was runner-up to his stable companion Golden Sword on his sole start of the season to date in the Chester Vase.
Mick Kinane will be on board the Guineas hero Sea The Stars as he pursues a third Epsom victory although trainer John Oxx remains uncertain about his colt’s prospects of staying the mile-and-a-half trip. “He has a chance, and the Derby is such a big race, such an important race, if he were to win and add it to the Guineas it would be a great achievement. We have to give him his chance,” Oxx reported.
“It is a big jump this early in his career and it is certainly a jump into the unknown. The way he ran at a mile was like a horse who would get a mile and a quarter. So he will go a fair bit of the way and we think he can stretch better than a mile. But we won’t know until the day,” added Oxx, who has nominated the Irish Derby as a likely target for Mourayan.
