G1-Derby de English
Grade I
A mile and one half
Firm Turf
$1,000,000
All horses, 3 years old
The weather looks to be good for this challenging mile and a half G1 turf race in which some of the best 3yo colts in the sim put their reputations, and rankings, on the line. Despite being over a distance that most are untried or have little experience of there are a few key races that happened recently which may just cast some light on the possible outcome of this race.
G1-Adelaide
1st Musical Cat(KY)
2nd The Gun Went Off(KY)
13th Fumetsu(KY)
G1-Sydney
1st Portman’s Perfect(KY)
2nd Septic Squall(ENG)
4th Spartiate(ENG)
G1-The
1st Silent Ajdal(KY)
2nd Franklin Terrace(IRE)
4th Spartiate(ENG)
With the first two places all showing up for this one, but only one horse appearing in more than one race, it will be interesting to see if we can pick the winner of this one. So without further ado her are the runners:
STINK ONE(KY)
Ranking: 116
Trainer: inzy4
(Harlan’s
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 123,920 Runs/Wins: 13/5
A colt from Flurgen Stables bred from a G class mare. He’s improved since switching to turf, and whilst he took his time to lose that maiden tag, he’s been pretty good ever since and never appeared outside of the top 2. It’s his first time over 9.5 furlongs and I’m not convinced he’ll be able to take this extra distance.
WRECKING CREW(IRE)
Ranking: 29
Trainer: lenny3
(Sadler’s Wells x Blushing Groom(FR) x Never Say Die)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 105,378 Runs/Wins: 8/4
A scratch bred colt from The Evil Empire. A nice 50% winning percentage could be under threat in this one, though he has had a couple of successful 11f runs which could make him a colt to buck the formbook, but he was narrowly beaten by Musical Cat(KY) over 11f a couple of races back.
MUSICAL CAT(KY)
Ranking: 3
Trainer: champions2
(
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 479,510 Runs/Wins: 9/5
Winner: G1-Adelaide
A colt from Flurgen Stables bred from an F class mare. Hasn’t raced since winning The Adelaide Derby in fine style over this distance back in March. That wasn’t a particularly fast race, but as a late runner that wont bother this fellow too much. The race before that he beat Wrecking Crew(KY) over 11f, so maybe the form is better than it looks on paper.
HELL WYRM(ENG)
Ranking: 36
Trainer: tripwire
(Medicean (GB) x Danehill x Rainbow Quest)
Odds: 20/1 Earnings: 180,300 Runs/Wins: 11/5
A colt from Given Stables: Fire and Blood bred from an F class mare. Won a stakes in
WASHINSKY(IRE)
Ranking: 34
Trainer: loisblack
(George Washington (IRE) x Gone West x Pleasant Colony)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 360,620 Runs/Wins: 12/5
Winner: G3-Belgian Tike Stakes
G3-Black Velvet Turf
G3-Tiny Toes Stakes
G3-Black Velvet Turf
A colt from Zeco Stables Belgium based on a G class horse. Had a successful early 2yo career but has only just started finding the big wins again. This is a big step up in distance for him though, and whilst he may manage the four furlongs I think he may be found a little wanting here.
VERTBAUDET(IRE)
Ranking: 108
Trainer: dixiefly
(Montjeu(IRE) x Aptitude x
Odds: 6/1 Earnings: 170,775 Runs/Wins: 9/7
A colt from Brundlefly Stables based on an E class horse. He’s just put together a winning sequence of 7 runs, including 3 stakes races, but his longest distance to date is only 8.5 furlongs. He’s favourite here on the back of his last SP# but he could struggle to reproduce that here, so I would expect him to return to the classic distance next time where he has a good chance of making a big name for himself in the future.
FUMETSU(KY)
Ranking: 44
Trainer: topicount2
(Storm Cat x Hishi Akebono x
Odds: 23/1 Earnings: 101,628 Runs/Wins: 10/3
A colt from Topicount Stables bred from a B class mare (Sasaki). Failed badly in The Adelaide Derby despite having two wins over 11 furlongs in his form. I think it’s fair to say that that run may turn out to be a blip that he should recover from, and any knocks he may have picked up there should be well rested now. It’s all a matter of confidence I guess.
PORTMAN’S PERFECT(KY)
Ranking: 4
Trainer: nijinsky4
(Pleasantly Perfect x Sadler’s Wells x Irish River(FR))
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 699,406 Runs/Wins: 8/4
Winner: G1-Sydney
A colt from Mv4ever Stables bred from a C class mare (N.Portman). He overcame the poor ground to capture the G1-Sydney Derby field in a pretty good time considering everything. Sometimes the ground can produce strange results but in this case we had a winner who had already put ina reasonable 2nd place over 11 furlongs – but in that instance he was beaten by The Gun Went Off(KY), so will need to put in an improved performance to reverse that.
KING OF INDY(SAF)
Ranking: 58
Trainer: roberto
(King Of Kings(IRE) x A.P. Indy x Mill Reef)
Odds: 9/1 Earnings: 359,260 Runs/Wins: 15/4
Winner: G3-Theregoesmyhero Stakes
A colt from Theatrical Stables bred from a C class mare (A.P. Reef). He hasn’t managed a win since his G3 victory in March so not in particularly good form at the moment. I’m not convinced he will take to the extra distance here and would expect to see him running back over a mile before very long.
SPARTIATE(ENG)
Ranking: 16
Trainer: wicked
(Pivotal(GB) x
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 711,375 Runs/Wins: 10/4
Winner: G3-Omnipotent Juvenile
G2-Manofjunk Stakes
G1-Epiphany Too Handicap
A colt from Daninja Stables bred from a C class mare (Ytwodubai(GB)). A very successful 2yo he was the only colt to have run in two of our key races, where he finished 4th in both. Despite that I believe he will struggle to make the money here and would prefer to see him drop back to 10 furlongs where he could prove to be more successful.
SEPTIC SQUALL(ENG)
Ranking: 8
Trainer: sozzled
(Septieme Ciel x Summer Squall x Alleged)
Odds: 13/1 Earnings: 463,650 Runs/Wins: 14/4
A colt from Jacklad Empire bred from an E class mare. He’s been unfortunate to run up against 2 off tracks in his last 2 runs so it will be interesting to see how he will perform over this distance on this firm turf. Despite grabbing 2nd place in The Sydney Derby I still feel that 12 furlongs is too long for him in this company and he’s another who may be better going shorter.
SILENTAJDAL(KY)
Ranking: 5
Trainer: racer
(Sharp Humor x Gentlemen(ARG) x Ajdal)
Odds: 12/1 Earnings: 408,810 Runs/Wins: 12/4
Winner: G1-The
A colt from Tees Stables bred from a D class mare and bred by rihanna. A colt who has changed hands in the auction a couple of times before landing The Caribbean in surprising good style. He did however finish a distant third to both The Gun Went Off(KY) and Portman’s Perfect(KY) in a derby prep race over 11 furlongs the race before that so he has a lot to do to convince me that he’s up for this one.
THE GUN WENT OFF(KY)
Ranking: 6
Trainer: lenny12
(Mineshaft x
Odds: 8/1 Earnings: 727,520 Runs/Wins: 11/6
Winner: G3-Buckeye Juvenile
G1-Vermont Is For Lovers
A scratch bred colt from The Evil Empire. A colt who only switched to turf in his last 2 races winning a derby prep in
Ranking: 9
Trainer: stormcat55
(Montjeu (IRE) x Fusaichi Pegasus x Saint Ballado)
Odds: 15/1 Earnings: 328,775 Runs/Wins: 13/4
A colt from Foxon Stables bred from a C class mare (Rainah). Yet to win as a 3yo this colt came good last time in The Caribbean to capture 2nd spot and will be hoping to go one better here. I wouldn’t expect any stamina problems from him and wouldn’t be surprised to see him running even longer distances before very much longer.
Summary
A lot of cross-form to mesmerise us in this one and everything seems to point to Musical Cat holding his own and building up a winning sequence of four.