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The Derby Festival: Preview

The Derby Festival begins on Friday, as tens of thousands of fans flock to Epsom Downs to witness one of the highlights of the racing calendar. We put together this preview of the two day event to give you the lowdown on what’s in store.

 

Date and time: Friday 31st May – Saturday 1st June

 

Where to watch: ITV will be showing the first five races each day and their coverage runs from 13:30 – 17:00. If you subscribe to Racing TV you can watch the entirety of the day’s action, with coverage lasting from 13:00 to 18:00

 

About the festival: A sprawling flat circuit located in Surrey, Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse that plays host to the Derby Festival each year.

Epsom’s maximum capacity stands at 120,000, making it the fourth largest of any racecourse in the world. 150,000 people are expected to pass through the gates this weekend to witness two of the most famous races on the calendar; The Oaks and The Derby.

With the distance of both races standing at one mile, four furlongs and six yards, the Oaks takes place on the Friday and is the second-oldest of the five British Classic races, having been inaugurated in 1779.

It is also the second leg of the Fillies’ Triple Crown, falling in the middle of the 1000 Guineas and the St Leger. The feat of winning the prestigious treble has been achieved nine times but not since 1985 when Oh So Sharp managed it.

The fastest winning time came in 2017 when the Frankie Dettori-ridden enable won in 2m 34s. However, the most dominant performance came in 1983 when when Sun Princess finished a record 12 lengths ahead of the field.

On Saturday attention will turn to The Derby. Often described as the greatest flat race in the world, the Derby is certainly the richest in Britain and offers a remarkable total prize fund of £1,500,000.

The race has been dominated by Aidan O’Brien in recent years, who has trained four of the last eight winners and six overall. That puts him one short of the overall record which is already a three way tie.

Several jockeys have won the race more than once since the turn of the century, with Kieren Fallon, Johnny Murtagh, Frankie Dettori, Joseph O’Brien and Ryan Moore all winning more than once. However, none come close to the achievements of the great Lestor Piggott, who won the race an astonishing nine times over a 29-year period between 1954 and 1983.

The quickest ever win is marginally faster than The Oaks, with Workforce going round in 2m 31s in 2010.

 

Verdict: No colt or filly has stamped their authority on the middle distance division yet, so there is still plenty of scope for a couple to improve past those who find themselves at the head of the betting. LAVENDERS BLUE has only had two starts but already has already shown a tendency to travel strongly and The Oaks test can bring out further improvement. BANGKOK has a similar style of racing and, keeping in mind his form with Telecaster, is my selection in The Derby.

 

The Oaks Selection: LAVENDERS BLUE

The Derby Selection: BANGKOK

 

 

 

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