ARABIAN CROWN exploded into the Derby picture with an all-the-way win at Sandown.
Charlie Appleby’s winning machine turned a red-hot renewal of the Classic Trial into a romp… and he has Epsom written all over him.
GettyArabian Crown is now a top-priced 6-1 for the Derby[/caption]
Godolphin’s Adayar was second in this race before going on to spring a 16-1 shock in the Derby back in 2021.
But this lad looks much more the finished article and won’t be anywhere near as big a price when he takes his place in the line-up on June 1.
The bookies halved him into 6-1 from 12s for the Derby, and if it wasn’t for the presence of City Of Troy he’d have been cut even further.
Winning jock William Buick has never been one to go over the top, but he was purring about his horse after steering home by three and a quarter lengths.
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And it was little more than an armchair ride as he grabbed the lead early, set even fractions before turning on the afterburners just over two furlongs from home.
There were some good runs from nice-looking horses in behind, namely Macduff and Remaadd who battled it out for second spot.
But the barrow loads of cash for Arabian Crown, who went off a shade of odds-on, was well-placed. He’s a good’un.
Buick said: “He is very straightforward and he just keeps on improving. As far as trials go, you can’t ask for more than that.
“Charlie was very keen to go forward, he has a big stride and we know he stays well so we wanted to make good use of him.
“When he changed gear two and a half furlongs out I was really impressed and he saw it out well all the way up the hill.
“It will be up to Charlie whether he wants to run him again, but he has plenty of experience already. He has everything you need in a Derby horse, he’s got a good cruising speed, he’s well-balanced and he stays.”
Staying was the name of the game on soft ground at Sandown, and Charyn saw out the bet365 Mile strongly for Roger Varian and Silvestre De Sousa.
The horse is now tops 9-2 for the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury next month, and a resurgent De Sousa is hoping he can keep the ride in the big Group 1.
He said: “This is a lovely horse, he has gears and he really sticks his head down when he gets into a battle.
“It’s important for me to get a good horse like him now I’m back in the UK and freelance. I really appreciate Roger giving me the chance and hopefully we can build on this.”
And Harry Charlton will be hoping to build on a fast start to the season.
He bagged a big double with Hand Of God in the Esher Cup and Okeechobee in the Gordon Richards Stakes.
The latter just touched off the King’s Desert Hero in a nail-biting finish, and he could go to the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland next.
Charlton grinned: “The horses are in good form but it makes my job easier when you have nice ones like these to train every morning.”
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