Classic weekend coming

This column is taking 3 days off, but before that happens we shall look at the big races coming this weekend. The Epsom Derby and The Oaks have both been run since the late 18th century and have been imitated in every racing nation, from Kentucky to Hamburg to Hong Kong, but the Epsom versions are the originals. They are no longer the most important races in the world, and far from the most valuable, but are still of huge significance.

The 3 big races of the meeting, Friday´s Coronation Cup (for older horses) at 15.45 CET and Oaks (3yo fillies) at 17.05, and Saturday´s Derby at 17.00 are all run over the classic distance of 1 1/2 miles. The Coronation Cup often has a small field, but it looks a strong renewal this time, headed by Fame and Glory (Aidan O´Brien/ Jhnny Murtagh), 2nd in last year´s Derby and winner of the Irish version, and Sariska (Michael Bell/ Jamie Spencer), winner of the 2009 Oaks. Youmzain (Mick Channon/ Kieren Fallon) - runner-up in 3 "Arcs" and also here last year, Godolphin´s Cavalryman, now with Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Frankie Dettori, and Jukebox Jury (Mark Johnston/ Royston Ffrench) also have their chances. Logically Fame and Glory should win, but the odds are not appealing (11/10 at the time of writing). If you can bet place only, our suggestion is Youmzain for a place.
The Oaks looks wide open this year with 15 runners, and it is not even clear who will start favourite. Henry cecil has a good record in this race and his pair Aviate (Tom Queally) - unbeaten in 3 starts- and Timepiece (Eddie Ahern) have obvious chances, while Frankie rides Michael Jarvis´ once-raced Sajjhaa, highly-rated but taking a huge leap in class. Marcus Tregoning´ s Rumoush (Richard Hills) has been well-backed, while there are som strong Irish candidates including Remember When (O´Brien/ Murtagh) and Akdarena (Jim Bolger/ Kevin Manning).
There are another half-dozen with chances in a race where nothing really stands out, and we give a very tentative vote to Akdarena.

12 are expected to run in Saturday´s Derby, where the betting market was thrown into confusion this week by the uncertainty regarding Aidan O´Brien´s runners. It is now clear that he will saddle 3 starters, with Murtagh riding Jan Vermeer, who will be a warm favourite and is the clear form choice. Godolphin also have 3 runners, with Frankie riding Mahmoud al Zaroon´ s Rewilding and Kieren Fallon on Saeed´s Al Zir. Ther has been a lot of support this week for Workforce (Sir Michael Stoute/ Ryan Moore), despite his latest defeat, while Henry Cecil´s Bullet Train (Queally), easy winner of the Lingfield trial, and Azmeel (John Gosden/ William Buick) are also fancied.
However Jan Vermeer must hold an outstanding chance here, although the likelihood of the ground firming up is not in his favour, with Bullet Train the next best in our opinion.

The classic weekend continues on Sunday at Chantilly with the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) over 2100 metres. Here a maximum field of 20 is expected and again the race looks wide open. The O´Brien/ Murtagh team have another good chance with Cape Blanco, while the best of the locals could be Pascal Bary´s Blue Ice, for whom Ryan Moore has been booked. Rather surprisingly, Dettori rides Pain Perdu for Nicolas Clement, while Godolphin´ s Simon de Montfort, just before him last time, will be partnered by Ahmed Ajtebi. German interests are represented by Andre Fabre´s Lope de Vega (Maxime Guyon) in the Ammerland colours, winner of the French Guineas last time.