Betfred Derby Day. One of the great days in British and indeed world racing is here. With the worst of the rain seemingly behind us, we are set to race on ground on the easier side of good and all is in place for a wonderful day of racing.
The main event of the day is of course the Betfred Derby (4pm) itself. On Thursday, I published a runner-by-runner guide to it that gives my detailed thoughts on all the runners - you can find that . There are a few others races on the card that are of interest and those are the ones I will cover in this space.
The Coolmore Coronation Cup (2.40pm) has been moved onto Derby day and had its prize money significantly boosted this year and all involved have been rewarded with a seriously strong renewal of the race.
It is far from a two-horse race, but much of the focus will be on the rematch from last year's race where the Aidan O'Brien-trained JAN BRUEGHEL got the better of the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Calandagan in a thrilling contest.
Since then, Calandagan has gone on to establish himself as the world's leading middle-distance performer by embarking on a remarkable five-race winning streak at the highest level featuring a genuinely epic victory in the Japan Cup.
In contrast, Jan Brueghel has been restricted to just two outings since then, a disappointing effort in a tactically messy renewal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot and an impressive winning return from an absence at Chester last month.
It is fully understandable why Calandagan is the clear favourite for the rematch, but Jan Brueghel did seem to enjoy the unique test of this course and distance quite a bit better than Calandagan last year and that could prove to be an important factor this year.
Jan Brueghel also has two strong stable mates in the field and Aidan O'Brien might well have a plan up his sleeve to maximise Jan Brueghel's chance. At the prices, he makes more appeal to me.
The HKJC World Pool Northern Dancer Handicap (5.20pm) is just a ridiculously competitive handicap, but I'm keen to have a swing at it with the Ralph Beckett-trained LORD MELBOURNE. The six-year-old doesn't have particularly attractive recent form, but it is his record over this unique course that catches the eye.
He has won two of his three starts at this track and his moderate recent form has seen him drop to a mark that is just 3lb higher than he bolted up off at this track last September. It wouldn't be at all surprising if his connections have had this race on Derby Day in mind for him for quite some time and with a wide draw not being too much of a worry, he looks to have a very real chance at a big race.
2.40 Epsom Downs - Coolmore Coronation Cup
JAN BRUEGHEL (3-1)
4.00 Epsom Downs - Betfred derby
1. BENVENUTO CELLINI
2. Christmas Day
3. James J Braddock
5.20 Epsom Downs - HKJC World Pool Northern Dancer Handicap
LORD MELBOURNE (20-1)
