Saturday 4th June 2022

Author: Jordan Yates (EvRacing_)

Welcome to my preview for Derby Day at Epsom where I’ll be kicking things off with the opener which is the Cazoo Handicap at 2:00. This is a competitive affair to say the least, and I’ve tried my hand with two picks in the race with the first of those coming in the form of Mr Big Stuff at 5/1 for Richard Spencer and Tyler Heard. He was last seen when finishing fifth of twelve at Newbury, I tipped him up that day also and he had no luck at all in the run, and in my opinion would’ve finished a lot closer had things gone differently. He’s been nudged up a pound for that effort, however, Heard’s five pound claim will definitely help his cause and I think he has a huge chance here. The other one I like here is War Horse at 9/1 for the duo of Marco Botti and Andrea Atzeni. He bounced back to form with a smart win in a Sandown handicap last month and he’s only two pounds higher for that here. I think there could well be quite a bit more to come from him yet and he’s clearly got a fair amount of ability in his locker.

It’s the 3:45 where I go next which is the Epsom Dash, which is an extremely competitve five-furlong handicap. I’ve also had two picks in this, and the first of which is Stone Of Destiny at 7/1 for the team of Andrew Balding and and David Probert. It’s been a long time between drinks for him, and you have to find him on a going day, but he has shown some life in his runs this season, most notably his run at Newmarket in April where I thought he travelled pretty well. He also knows how to win a race of this nature with some big sprint handicaps under his belt, and if he gets a bit of luck in the run he’s more than capable of adding another one to his CV here. The other one I’ve taken a chance on here is Equality at 22/1 for Charlie Hills and Jack Mitchell. He posted a very smart effort on his seasonal appearance at Windsor in April when bolting in by just under five lengths. When last seen he was unable to justify favouritism at Doncaster when finishing third of seven, however, he’s it’s likely that he still has more progression in him and he represents a yard who excel with their sprinters.

The Epsom Derby itself comes up at 4:30, probably the most prestigious flat race in the calender the Group 1 affair is contested over a distance of a mile and four furlongs. There’s a whole host of potential superstars taking each-other on at the top of the market here, but I’ve gone a bigger price runner and that’s Walk Of Stars at 16/1 for James Doyle and Charlie Appleby. He’s seemingly the Godolphin second-string here, but was well-fancied and prominent in the betting for this race before he got beat at a short price in the Lingfiel Trial last time out. However, last year’s winner Adayar was also beaten in that race before taking this for the same connections. This Dubawi colt also still looked a bit raw when asked to go about his business that day at Lingfield by Buick, and it’s likely he’ll be a lot more streetwise for this assignment. He could well outrun his odds.