LATE DERBY NEWS: St. Nicholas Abbey non-runner!

Aidan O´Brien confirmed Tuesday morning that long-time favourite St. Nicholas Abbey will miss Saturday´s Epsom Derby. He had been ante-post favourite for the Derby ever since winning the Racing Post Trophy last October, but recent betting patterns suggested strongly that there was a problem, and so it has proved. Apparently he has a slight muscle injury and needs a few days rest.

Stable companion Jan Vermeer is now hot favourite for Epsom, even though he has not been confirmed a certain runner (he is also in Sunday´s French Derby). Whatever stable jockey Johnny Murtagh decides to ride from the remaining 5 O´Brien entries will probably win.