Emily enjoys Downs gallop ahead of Epsom Classic
Tom Marriott reports from yesterday’s Cazoo Derby Gallops Morning at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
AFTER a pair of pulsating wide-margin victories this season, Emily Upjohn is a shade of odds-on with most bookies to win the 2022 Cazoo Oaks in 10 days’ time.
She streaked away from her rivals by nine-and-a-half lengths at Sandown last month, before putting the Group Three Musidora Stakes to bed by five-and-a-half, form that stands head and shoulders above any of her peers.
But nothing is cut-and-dried when it comes to winning over the helter-skelter, unique mile and a half of Epsom, so the option to work the daughter of 2009 Derby winner Sea The Stars at yesterday’s Cazoo Derby Gallops Morning was readily taken up by John & Thady Gosden, and they were happy with the outcome.
“Frankie [Dettori] felt that for a filly who’s only had three races in her life, it would be nice to come here, have a look and get a feel of the track – that’s all you’re really doing,” said Gosden senior.
“I thought she behaved great, she moved very well, got her leads right coming down the hill and then quickened up nicely. Mentally, I think she’ll benefit a lot from that, and she appears to have rather enjoyed her morning out here.”
The Gosdens also train the Oaks second-favourite, Nashwa, but the trip to Epsom was judged by Gosden to be “a bit too close to her race” given she ran more recently than her stablemate.
Drawing comparison between the two fillies, Gosden said: “They’ve never worked together, and it wouldn’t be my intention to do so. I think Emily Upjohn is guaranteed to get a mile-and-a-half, while with Nashwa, the speed she shows it wouldn’t be guaranteed. They are different types of fillies.”
Gosden has a track record of using the Epsom workout as a dress rehearsal for June, bringing Taghrooda here before winning the 2014 Oaks and then the great Golden Horn ahead of the 2015 Derby, and the Clarehaven handler feels he has something of that mould on his hands again.
“I think she’s in the Taghrooda league. It would be silly to start talking about Enable, that would be completely over the top, but she’s in that Taghrooda league,” said Gosden, a three-time Oaks-winning trainer.
“She has the ability to travel and then quicken over the trip. I know they were just playing a bit today, going half-speed, but even the way she quickened today between the three and the two was impressive.”
Another man who’s tasted Classic success in recent years at Epsom, not to mention a hat-trick of Guineas wins already this season, is Charlie Appleby, who was at the track preparing Cazoo Derby hopes Nahanni and Walk Of Stars, as well as Coronation Cup runner Manobo.
Of the three, Walk Of Stars sounded like the one Appleby was most pleased with.
“If you’re going to pick one of them out based on the way they moved out there then Walk Of Stars would be the one,” Appleby said.
“He’s very much a work in progress, and that was the reason to bring him here today. We wanted to get some more experience into him before the big day and we’re very pleased.
“He’s got all the ability in the world, and we’ve always felt he’s got the engine to be able to do something exciting.”
Appleby pointed out that stablemate Nahanni, last seen winning the Cazoo Blue Riband Trial, “ticks a couple of nice boxes” given he’s proven over track and trip and has “turned himself inside out physically over the last four weeks”, while the Godolphin handler could also field Newmarket Stakes winner Nations Pride, with a decision on whether he goes to Epsom or Chantilly for the French Derby to come tomorrow after a gallop.
Eydon, trained by Roger Varian, also had a spin round Tattenham Corner on Monday morning, though again a decision is yet to be made on whether he runs in the English or French Derby, which are run within 24 hours of each other, while 50/1 Derby outsider West Wind Blows’ work was “very pleasing” according to co-trainer Simon Crisford.
Westover, trained by Ralph Beckett and set to give Rob Hornby his first ever Derby ride, also worked nicely at the track.
“He handled the track very well today, which was important as he is a big individual,” said Hornby.
“He’s an exuberant horse and a bit of a teenager. He’s been a little bit gassy in his races beforehand and also in his homework, but he’s been developing and once we started the gallop today he settled beautifully and got into a real good rhythm.”
Something that couldn’t be replicated on a mild Monday morning at Epsom was the 100,000-strong crowd expected to cover the Downs and be packed into the stands, including Her Majesty The Queen.
Appleby suggested “a horse can win or lose the race in the paddock” before the race at the Derby Festival, so even if the hopefuls handled the track yesterday morning, it remains to be seen how they’ll cope with the big occasion next week.