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Crown comes through Trial with flying colours

Arabian Crown justified odds-on favouritism and booked his ticket for the Derby when making all the running in the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown.

A smart two-year-old, he was last seen winning the Zetland Stakes by over five lengths and appeared to hold strong credentials given how much Dubawi’s progeny tend to improve at three.

William Buick sent him into an early advantage and it was one he was not to relinquish, as the 5/6 market leader made the last 100 yards his most impressive.

With two furlongs to run, there were several who must have still fancied their chances, with Remaadd, Macduff and Under The Sun all in there pitching.

But Buick knew exactly what he had under the bonnet and having just wound up the pace, he really put the pedal to the metal, stretching three and a quarter lengths clear of Macduff and Remaadd, who ran exactly to the pound from their Haydock running last year.

Appleby ran Adayar in this race, who was beaten by Alenquer in 2021 before winning at Epsom, while Westover prevailed two years ago and went on to win the Irish Derby.

Paddy Power and Betfair both cut the winner to 6/1 from 12s for the Epsom Classic.

Appleby’s assistant Alex Merriam said: “Will gave him a nice ride on the front end and I thought he did it quite impressively in the end, he’s galloped all the way through the line.

“His racecourse gallop helped him and Charlie has been really pleased with him the last two weeks, he’s really started to come to himself and it (the gallop) didn’t do him any harm anyway.

“He has got to be in the Derby mix now and obviously there are a few other irons in the fire, but I suppose he has to be the main one at the minute.

“I was just talking to Will and it’s going to be tight to get another run into him, he’s had a hard-enough race there on soft enough ground.

“We’ll see how he comes out of the race and if he goes anywhere, it will probably be Chester – the Dante is a bit close to Epsom. I think experience-wise, as you can see there, he’s quite professional already. We’ve not had a Dubawi win the Derby yet, but fingers crossed we will get there eventually.”

Buick said: “He is very straightforward and he showed that last year. He just kept on improving last year, so let’s hope he can keep doing the same. Certainly, as a trial goes, I was very happy with that and there is plenty of improvement left in him I felt, and it is quite testing out there. It’s early on in the season and naturally he is going to progress.

“Charlie was very keen to go forward today but we were also very happy to sit off the pace if there was a strong pace. As it turns out, he has a big stride and he likes to use it and he changed gear two and a half out and attacked the hill, so it was a very nice performance.

“I would be as confident as you can be with a three-year-old at this time of year that he would stay a mile and a half. Charlie and the team will decide if he needs more experience, but he’s a very straightforward horse and he does not lack for experience.

“Yes, he does like to use his stride, but he also has a nice cruising speed and he travels well, which is exactly what you need in a Derby, if he gets that far.”

Ralph Beckett said of Macduff in second: “It was a great effort, I was really pleased with the effort. He’s a very straightforward horse and Rossa (Ryan, jockey) felt he had enough in the tank to tackle the winner, but the ground just counted against him. He does have a sort of fast-ground pedigree, so that ties in.

“We’ll see how he trains in the next few weeks and Barry (Mahon, of owners Juddmonte) is not keen to rule out Epsom and neither am I. We’ll see how he trains in the coming weeks and how the trials go and then see how we feel about it (the Derby)."

Charyn scores again

Roger Varian’s Charyn confirmed the promise of his reappearance win at Doncaster when coming with a storming run to land the bet365 Mile.

Varian nominated this Group Two after his comeback success and following some creditable runs at the highest level last season, a step back up to the top grade looks likely, with Paddy Power cutting him in price to 9-2 from 10s for the Lockinge at Newbury.

Victory looked a long way off three furlongs from home, however, as Silvestre de Sousa was rowing away at the back of the pack, having left the stalls slowly. At that stage, Poker Face was just about to take over from Pogo and looked to hold all the aces, still travelling well. The veteran Lord North was also making progress from the rear over a trip short of his best but Nostrum looked a difficult ride for Ryan Moore.

By now, De Sousa was in full flight and the 9-4 favourite came with a withering run down the centre of the track, getting up to beat Poker Face by a length and a quarter.

“He was slow from the gates, so Silvestre had no option but to drop in, but the horse came home very strong didn’t he, he’s a fighter and he’s a good horse,” said Varian.

“He was a good winner on the line and although it took him a while to get there and get on top, it’s a tough track and the ground is holding and it’s hard work. He’s finished strong and we’re very pleased. He’s always been a genuine horse and looking back to last year, although he didn’t win, he contested the biggest races and wasn’t disgraced. He looks to have stepped up a level this year and hopefully he can continue.

“This horse is so laid-back, he works nicely at home but he’s never flashy and he never streaks three or four lengths clear in a gallop, that’s not the type of horse he is.

“He carries a lot of condition and I always think he needs a run, but he’s got a great constitution and he’s finding plenty on the track. Hopefully he continues to do so and he will have tougher tasks ahead now, but he’s doing well and we’re very pleased.

“He chased home Paddington three times (last year). He was fourth in the Irish Guineas and had some traffic that day, he was third in the St James’s Palace and he finished third in the Sussex Stakes – and each time he was beaten three or four lengths.

“So, he was running consistently but he was bumping into the very best of his generation. I don’t know how much he has improved though, because on his best bits of his form last year, you would give him every chance today. I think we will really find out how much he has improved when he goes into Group One company next time.”

On future plans, he added: “He’s entered in the Lockinge and that looks the obvious place to go, it’s three weeks from now. Winning this race and winning at Doncaster, he deserves to take his chance there. It will be tougher again than today but Silvestre said we could step up in trip one day as well.

“He deserves to be entered in the top mile races and he might end up going beyond a mile at some point. But it will be a mile for now and he deserves to be in the Lockinge and deserves to be in the Queen Anne.”

De Sousa said: “Today was much more tactical than Doncaster but I just had to be aware of the good horses around me and he’s a nice horse going forward who deserves to win that kind of race. He’s a bit more confident after getting his head in front at Doncaster and hopefully he can come forward again.

“Roger and the owner have given me this nice opportunity and I’m delighted.”

Moore shines as Charlton records biggest success

Okeechobee just held off the late thrust of the King and Queen’s Desert Hero to win the bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes.

Unraced at two, he showed smart form at three when trained by Roger and Harry Charlton, but with Harry now striking out on his own, this Group Three represented the biggest win in the career of the young handler so far.

Second on his return from a long lay-off at Kempton, the now five-year-old was sent off a 100/30 chance under Ryan Moore, who had already teamed up with Charlton to win the Esher Cup on Hand Of God. He looked to have plenty to do with two furlongs to run, as Jim Crowley cruised to the front on Israr, who was putting behind him a very disappointing run in Qatar last time out.

Okeechobee quickened past Desert Hero, third in the St Leger when last seen and running over a trip half a mile less, and he initially looked like winning quite comfortably when claiming Israr.

But Tom Marquand really got William Haggas’ Desert Hero rolling and he laid down a strong challenge, only for the line to come two strides too soon, going down by a head with a further three-quarters of a length back to Israr.

“I thought he would go very close beforehand, but watching it was less enjoyable,” said Charlton. “Turning in, Ryan said they really kicked off the front, which we thought might happen, as it was a field full of stamina horses. He had quite a lot of ground to make up and Ryan was impressed with him from the three to the two to the one. He just got there and like they sometimes do, he just leaned in. Al Kazeem used to do it; think he was going to win then start hanging into the rail. But it was impressive.

“He obviously ran a lovely race at Kempton the other day and was entitled to come on for that. He came here 10kg fitter and I think he can probably tighten again, he’s a big, round, rotund horse. That’s only his sixth race and there’s scope for more hopefully. Dare I say it, we might have to look at something like the Prix d’Ispahan or the Tattersalls Gold Cup next, it will be one of those two I suspect.”

Haggas will not be too despondent with Desert Hero, as he was on his way out to Hong Kong to watch Dubai Honour, the horse who beat Okeechobee on his comeback at Kempton.

Marquand said of the runner-up: “It was the perfect comeback run for him. I would have loved him to get his head in front but he’s been beaten by a good horse and it was a good reintroduction to racing for him. Everything went to plan and he pulled up well and no doubt we will be back up to a mile and a half next and having some more fun with him.”

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Hand Of God advertised his class to get on the scoresheet and provide Charlton with another notable victory in the bet365 Esher Cup.

The Beckhampton-trained colt had shown good ability as a two-year-old, signing off with a taking success in a Newmarket maiden, and put his stamina to good use in this one-mile event, as he beat off all challengers to make all in the hands of Ryan Moore. Charlton, who took over sole control of his family’s Berkshire operation at the beginning of this season, is now toying with the idea of stepping the son of Churchill up to 10 furlongs, with Newbury’s London Gold Cup a possible next port of call for the successful even-money favourite.

“The Esher Cup is one of the famous handicaps and it is nice to win it,” said Charlton. “I was told after he won at Newmarket that if he had run in the Sun Chariot that day, he would have finished fourth, so my time people told me it was a good performance, even if the form around it wasn’t.

“I said to Ryan that I thought he would stay and some of the other horses are seven-furlong horses that have been keen, that are now stepping up in trip. I said to go and make it and he should stay up the hill. He’s a great physical, who was always going to be better this year. In our heads, last year he was going to stay 12 furlongs but he probably won’t stay that far. Ryan said he has enough tactical speed for a mile but I think he will stay 10.

“I think he will ultimately be a 10-furlong horse and something like the London Gold Cup springs to mind if owner Mohammed Jaber wants to go down that route. We will talk to him and see what he thinks.”

In the opening bet365 Handicap, Andrew Balding’s Equity Law bounced back from an underwhelming return at Bath to oblige at odds of 15/2.

Owned by Jeff Smith, the mount of Oisin Murphy brought some smart course form from last season to the table and showed a good attitude to see off Shagraan by three-quarters of a length.

“He disappointed us first time out and we thought he’d go really well, he just got stuck in the mud, but that was much more like it today,” said Balding. "He’s a smart sprint handicapper, so there’s lots to look forward to and he should keep improving. We will stick to five furlongs until after Royal Ascot. We will probably look at the Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes and he will probably have to go up to about 90 to be safe to get into that.”

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