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True Zilzal but if the Appleby horse heads over then he’ll win it the ground is decent
100-1 second and 80-1 third – that nice Mr O’Brien might have saved another couple of accounts from being closed down! 😱
It looks like they dodged a bullet with the weather. If that rain arrived about an hour or so earlier, we would have been looking at a proper soft ground Derby. Incredible after the dry spring we had.
Dante from well and truly down the toilet, it seems one horse was able to come clear at York while the remiander got in each other’s way.
Excellent judgement of pace by Wayne Lordan, it would have needed a sprinter to get to the winner over the last four furlongs. The second Lazy Griff deserves credit for at least maintaining the gap to the winner over that stretch. New Ground came from the clouds to finish fourth and would have been a serious contender raced closer to the pace.
Here are the sectionals that shows he was able to control the race after that fast opening 3F to get to the front.
https://www.racingtv.com/results/2025-06-07/epsom-downs/1530
Delacroix “taken out” early just a little OTT
Prince of Arras was just unsettled for some reason and was hanging to his left doing Delacroix no favours but that was not sufficient excuse for favourite’s poor showing
Mike that theory doesnt work when theres a significant bias to being at the front, which there absolutely was, under those circumstances, it would have paid regardless to be ridden forward even if it did not technically suit, as you wouldnt be winning sitting out the back.
Gifting a horse that lead with that bias was just suicide and it was backed up by the 2nd staying where he stayed.
The french horse would have won if he was sitting closer to the pace and is most certainly the one to take out of the race
TLIW was just there as a prep run which is frustrating for punters again (albeit his gloss has faded)
New Ground didn’t cope with the preliminaries at all, was in a mess even in the stables. I backed him for the Arc as soon as the race finished. Of the O’Brien horses Lambourn coped with the preliminaries the best. I’m pleased for his jockey.
Derby thoughts; A very muddling race. The Dante form couldn’t possibly be that bad – let’s not forget Wimbledon Hawkeye was beaten 6 lengths in the Guineas and then 3 in the Dante, and Royal Playwright ran okay in a group 3 yesterday. For Pride of Arras to finish 50 lengths behind the winner is unfathomable, even allowing for the usual ground/trip/didn’t handle the track excuses.
Ruling Court being taken out took the gloss off the race , though I understand why Appleby, especially after Desert Flower’s run.
I’m not convinced Lambourn is that good – he could be another ROTW or Wings of Eagles but let’s see. It might be that the best British colt turns out to be a gelding (Amiroc) but Lazy Griff ran really well and the Gosdens may now think it worth trying Detain over 12 furlongs .
Another AOB win but Lazy Griff would have been a far better story for the sport. Complete domination by one trainer puts people off, as we’ve seen with Mullins.Give the others a chance Aidan please !
As for the dire attendance- No mystery after I looked at the prices – £72 for the Grandstand and £45 to go on the infield- That’s ridiculous- Charge a tenner for the hill (kids free) and Grandstand tickets at £40-50 (kids free) – discount packages for students . You will have the place full again. In other words, JCR- don’t be such money grabbing b*s. You can have all the FA Cup ball draws you like, but the good folk of Epsom won’t pay over £100 to take the family and then pay another £100+ to feed and water them- it’s not rocket science.^Spot on about the prices… I mentioned elsewhere Royal Ascot is £99 for a ticket (you can get cheaper but not paddock view) Travel is expensive. I could drive but I expect parking costs will be bumper. A day off work
Just not worth for me ..
Charles Darwin to conquer the World
Mark Johnston was llooknig after the stable’s Musselburgh runners and when interviewed was justifiably chuffed with Lazy Griff’s performance. Apparently there had been discussion over where to go with the horse, Mark said if he’d been trainer he probably wouldn’t have run in the Derby but Charlie’s view prevailed as ‘the boss’. Stable has struggled for a top class animal in recent times so hopefully this signals an upturn in fortunes.
Would love to see Lazy Griff win the Leger and “do it for Yorkshire” as Sean Bean would say.
The Irish Derby could be a good race if people prepared to take Lambourn on.Stay True from that stable would be an interesting challenger and Tennessee Stud and Hotazhell useful home based runners. Delacroix should probably stick to ten furlongs and I don’t know what they do with the Lion. I think the two Beckett challengers should go again- Pride of Arras was too bad to be true, and he might do an Auguste Rodin on an easier track. Detain would be an interesting supplement for Juddmonte (though they have Purview) and Almeric and Bay City Roller two possible UK wildcards . Lazy Griff, Cualificar, Ridari and New Ground should be set for a very good battle in the Grand Prix de Paris.
Agree the price is much too high. It is a Group 1, a Group 3, a Listed race and five handicaps. £72 is too much.
I have already bought my ticket for the Aintree Thursday next year. £28 to see four Grade 1s. It is safe to say that is better value!
The viewing at Epsom isn’t great either, not since the new stand was built. The old stand was better because you could go right to the top and get a panoramic view over the course.
The new stand is nowhere near as good. I ended up watching the races while standing in the bookies ring instead. It was OK but I am not paying £72 to do that!
Christophe Soumillon seemed pleased to be involved and enjoying a good run from Lazy Griff. Seemed a rare bit of enthusiasm for the day.
It is just as well the football was on. Otherwise the race would have been run later and been right in the middle of the deluge.
It’s not obrien and coolmores fault that they target the Epsom races better than the rest. None of the group one winners were fav. All the other breeding operations under utilised the coolmore stallions and that’s why,in part,they are well ahead of the rest. Godolphin of course didn’t use coolmore stallions for years. They have only recently done so.Ruling court is by justify a coolmore stallion. Plus whatever you think of John magnier he knows his stuff when it comes to breeding. The purchases of wootton bassett and justify look tremendous business. Plus you have an battalion of galileo broodmares. Aiden will be winning classics for many years to come.
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