The weather bureau's forecast for the weekend is anything but spirit-lifting. Andrew Cooper, the Clerk of the Course at Epsom Downs has said that 'soft' will be the operative word for Friday and Saturday. Yes, I need an umbrella and I will not board that train to Tattenham Corner from London Victoria on Friday. It is a heart-warming ride that takes an average of 60 minutes. There are direct trains and with certain others. you have to change trains at East
Croydon.
You walk past Tattenham Corner- the storied final bend at Epsom Downs and you will see, at least, a dozen bookmakers plying their trade outside the confines of the race course. It's a two-day carnival and there are those who pay scant attention to the serious business of horse racing. There are rides and more rides. There is food and all kinds of it. As you approach the race course's main entrance, all you see to your right is amusement park rides. It is all part of the 'Vodafone Derby' festival.
Vodafone, the European phone giant, sponsors the two-day meeting.
There are seven races in the Friday (June 1) card . The first race is at 1.40 P M. The fourth race, to be run at 3.25 p m, is the Group One Coronation Cup over 12 furlongs. Yeats, the 2005 champion, is in the field. The Aidan O'Brien trainee was a going-away winner of a Listed event at Leopardstown (in Ireland) on Wednesday's twilight card. Yeats, twice winner
this year, is being pointed to the Ascot Gold Cup, a race he won last year. O'Brien is also represented by Dylan Thomas, Scorpion and Septimus.
Sixties Icon represents Jeremy Noseda. Sir Michael Stoute's hope is the venerable Maraahel who has won everything but a Group One event. Sir Percy, the 2006 Derby hero, hails from Marcus Tregoning's yard and will be ridden by Martin Dwyer. Eleven horses are left in but there is every reason to believe that it will be a smaller field going postward in the Coronation Cup.
The Oaks, at 4.05 P M, is the fifth race. Fourteen three year-old fillies
are standing their ground. All bookmaking firms have Passage of Time at 7-4. Passage of Time, from the Henry Cecil barn, will be handled by Richard Hughes. Ted Durcan rides the other Henry Cecil-trained filly, Light Shift.
Henry Cecil, a legend in his own time, is going through a time of revival. A pre-eminent trainer, Henry Cecil had fallen on hard times. There was a time when the jockey who rode for Henry Cecil would be the champion jockey of England. Passage of Time has thrust Henry Cecil back into the limelight. "I worked hard to get my enthusiasm back. The glory days will not come back but I am out of the cloud that was hanging over me. I feel well. This year has been especially good," he said.
Dalvina and Light Shift are receiving knowledgeable support. Olivier Peslier, the French star, rides Dalvina. The focus has been Passage of Time who is reported to have a throat problem but has been showing no ill effects in her training regimen.
The Derby on Saturday may be Frankie Dettori's chance to win England's most prestigious horse race for the first time. Soft ground will not pose a problem to Authorized who is now 10 to 8 on in the market. Ladbrokes offer 9-2 on a Passage of Time-Authorized wager. Some firms offer odds on Authorized's margin of victory.
Frankie Dettori is yet to win a race since his return on Tuesday. On
Tuesday at Sandown Park, he failed to connect with the odds on Charlie Farnsbarns. He was, for the most part, conspicuous by his absence, on Wednesday. He resumes riding in the evening card at Sandown Park on Thursday.
Mark Gallagher will have a mount in the Derby. Colm O'Donoghue will ride one of Aidan O'Brien's horses. O'Brien is supposed to have eight runners.
There will be periods of sunshine punctuated by showers on Friday and
Saturday. The gloomy forecast is sure to dent the enthusiasm of the fans but after all, this is the greatest horse race in the world and a shower here and there cannot take away the magic and the excitement that the Derby brings.
