ITV Racing Preview: Will English King be crowned in the Epsom Derby?
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Latest odds ahead of Saturday’s bumper day of racing
Ready for the belated Epsom Classics? We think they’ll be worth the wait, with an incredible card lined up in Surrey this Saturday.
Ed Chamberlin and the team will be bringing you live coverage of six races, including the Epsom Oaks and the Derby, and we’ve looked over the best of the action.
Epsom
13:50 The Investec Surrey Stakes
14:25 The Investec Woodcote EBF Stakes
15:00 The Investec Handicap Stakes
15:40 The Investec Oaks
16:15 The Princess Elizabeth Stakes
16:55 The Investec Derby Stakes
Safe Voyage enjoyed his best season to date last year, with a Group 3 win at Haydock and a third-placed finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. He finished second behind Space Blues, winner of this race last year, in his comeback run last month. The ground should suit and he’ll be hoping to go one better here.
Shine So Bright could pose stern competition, while our man Jim Crowley is aboard Daarik, who won well at Newcastle recently.
Aidan O’Brien is chasing an eighth win in the Oaks this year. Will Love help him break the record? We’ve seen a lot of affection for her following her 1,000 Guineas victory.
Love’s stablemates Ennistymon, Passion and Peaceful, winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas, are also involved here.
If anyone is going to deny O’Brien, it could be John Gosden’s Frankly Darling, with Frankie Dettori in the saddle. The Frankel filly looked comfortable on her way to winning the Ribblesdale Stakes (ahead of Ennistymon and Passion) and shouldn’t have any concerns about the distance.
Gosden also has form in this race – he or O’Brien have won every running since 2014.
English King tops the Derby betting, but his odds have been eased after a potentially tricky draw in stall one. No Derby winner has won from the inside stall so far this century. Will the Lingfield Derby Trial winner get stuck on the rail? Or can Dettori steer him through?
Our traders have Kameko only just behind Ed Walker’s three-year-old. He looks to be in great shape after last month’s 2,000 Guineas win.
And of course, you can never count out O’Brien, who won this race in 2017 and 2019 with Anthony Van Dyck and Wings of Eagles respectively. Mogul, Russian Emperor and Vatican City are among his runners in this renewal.
If you were put off by Mogul’s showing in the King Edward VII Stakes, Russian Emperor’s impressive Royal Ascot win suggests he could be of real interest.
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
