Jockey William Buick might have been bidding for a third Cazoo Derby at Epsom on Saturday on Godolphin's supplementary entry Nations Pride had he chosen Hurricane Lane in preference to Adayar 12 months ago, but he attaches no blame to himself or anyone else for what proved a costly decision.
A Derby winner for the first time on Masar in 2018, Buick is excited about partnering Nations Pride in Saturday's race, which is part of the 35-race QIPCO British Champions Series and has attracted a field of 17. The Charlie Appleby-trained colt was not among the race's original entries, but he is currently third favorite behind the Dante winner Desert Crown and the Leopardstown Derby Trial winner Stone Age.
Buick had a choice to make again however, and he has opted for Nations Pride in preference to Nahanni and Walk Of Stars, both credible candidates themselves whom he also knows well. The Jockeys' Championship title race leader, who also recently missed out on a QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner when choosing Native Trail over Coroebus, said: “Nations Pride has only been beaten once, which was first time out, so he's a horse who has done nothing wrong. He's a very straightforward, well-balanced colt who saves his best for the track.
“He won well in Dubai and then when he won at Newmarket I really stretched him and he really saw it out well. His best part of the race was the last part, and that would indicate he's going to stay, but more importantly he travels well and he's got speed.
“As far as a Derby goes he's a very straightforward horse to deal with, and he's got that nice little bit of match practice too after racing five times. He didn't go to Epsom for the gallops morning with Nahanni, Walk Of Stars and my Coronation Cup ride Manobo, but everything has been routine at home.”
Reflecting on his win on Masar, which was a first in the Derby for trainer Charlie Appleby too, and on last year's decision, Buick said: “Winning the Derby on Masar was one of the best days of my life at that stage. I'd had a few rides in the race and finished second twice. They were second best, it's as simple as that, so I wouldn't say they were disappointments, but I'd had a taste of it and so I knew what it meant. Masar was at his absolute peak that day and gave me everything you could ask for in a horse around Epsom.
“Missing out on Adayar last year was just one of those things. The thing about the Derby is that it comes so early in a horse's career, and these horses are changing week to week. Hurricane Lane had won the Dante, and Adayar had been beaten in two trials, but Adayar was a fantastic winner of the Derby and look what Hurricane Lane has gone on to do since.”
Nations Pride was supplemented at a cost of £75,000 on Monday, along with rank outsider El Habeeb, and would be a third winner of the race to have been supplemented, following Kris Kin in 2003 and Golden Horn, the Derby's last winning favourite, in 2015.
Kris Kin carried the colours of Saeed Suhail and was trained by Sir Michael Stoute, and the pair team up again with this year's favourite Desert Crown, who will be a second ride in the race for Richard Kingscote, winner of the 2011 St Leger on Brown Panther.
Stoute has already had five Derby winners, with Kris Kin joined by Shergar (1981), Shahrastani (1986), North Light (2004) and Workforce (2010), but he hasn't had a runner in the race since 2016, when Ulysses and Across The Stars were both down the field.
Desert Crown has raced only twice, but so had Workforce, and while both won their sole juvenile starts impressively, Workforce was beaten in the Dante whereas Desert Crown won the race in style from Royal Patronage, despite reportedly being only just ready for the race following a setback in February.
There was significant further improvement from Desert Crown, while Mark and Charlie Johnston can also take plenty of encouragement from the running of Royal Patronage, who saw the finish out well following a switch to waiting tactics.
Aidan O'Brien has won six of the last ten Derbys and eight in all. His Vertem Futurity Trophy winner Luxembourg was the winter favourite for this year's race, and he arguably enhanced his claims with his QIPCO 2000 Guineas third behind Coroebus. He was ruled out by injury shortly afterwards, but such is the strength in depth at Ballydoyle that there was no shortage of potential replacements.
Stone Age failed to win in five starts at two but rose to the top of the pile with an impressive all-the-way win in the Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown, beating Glory Daze, who will be a first Derby runner for Andy Oliver. O'Brien won a series of recognised trials and he has also elected to run Changingoftheguard, a wide-margin front-running winner of the Chester Vase, and Star Of India, who had beaten Sonny Liston decisively in the previous day's Dee Stakes on the same course.
All three are by Galileo, O'Brien's first Derby winner in 2001. Galileo died last summer but he has left such a mark on the race as both a sire and grandsire that he was this week inducted into the QIPCO British Champions Hall of Fame via public vote.
O'Brien's younger son Donnacha, a Classic winner in France with Fancy Blue two years ago in his first season as a trainer, saddles another viable contender in the short-head Ballysax Stakes winner Piz Badile, on whom Frankie Dettori, successful on Authorized and Golden Horn, replaces Gavin Ryan.
Ralph Beckett saddles Westover for Juddmonte, whose late founder Khalid Abdullah won with Commander In Chief in 1993 and Workforce in 2010. A son of Abdullah's greatest horse Frankel, he was a short-head winner of the Sandown Classic Trial, the strength of which has yet to be tested in public. Beckett has been associated with many good fillies, including Classic winners Look Here, Talent and Simple Verse, but Westover will be just his second Derby runner, following Max Vega, who was well beaten two years ago.
He said: “Westover is in good shape, and I was very pleased with the way he went round Epsom on gallops morning last week. He worked well on the grass at home on Monday, with Rob (Hornby) on board, so we are ready. His pedigree gives mixed messages, but I'm not concerned about the trip provided he runs his race the right way around.
“I don't think softish ground would worry him. When he got beat on it at Pontefract last autumn it was mental immaturity more than anything. He's a big boy now, and he's starting to show what he's capable of. I'm happy that we've got all of our ducks in a row, and if he's good enough to get involved I think he will be.”
Andrew Balding, second with 50-1 chance Khalifa Sat in 2020, saddles Hoo Ya Mal for the same owner, and Masekela. Hoo Ya Mal was beaten seven lengths into second by Nations Pride at Newmarket, while Masakela was withdrawn from the Dante after getting upset at the start.
The field is completed by Charlie Fellowes' Grand Alliance, who ran Nahanni close in the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom in April, and the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained West Wind Blows, who has won both of his starts. Both will be first Derby runners for their trainers.
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