2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Preview – DS
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips
We made a super start to the weekend on Friday. Cadillac and Bobsleigh both won at 14s and 12s and Maman Joon ran a cracker in The Oaks in 4th. Maysong wasn’t given the best of rides but we can’t complain too much. Hopefully our good form continues, 2023 Saturday Epsom Derby festival tips are below.
12.50 – Diomed Stakes (Group 3)
Just six run in the Derby Day opener, a G3 over a trip of 8.5f. Highland Avenue is a short priced fav after his decent third behind Adayar last time at Newmarket (10f sft). It was a solid run but it was his seventh run in a row without winning. His last win came in April 2021 so odds of 5/4 do look a shade skinny.
Kolsai is the sole 3yo in the field and he gets weight from the rest. It’s still a bit early in the season to be backing 3yos against the older horses but he does look a promising colt. Escobar is a legend and the 9yo shaped well last time at Haydock in Listed company (7f gd/sft). However, I’d imagine the plan with him is to get his mark down for some big handicaps later in the summer.
We backed Maries Diamond last time and he just failed at 33s. This son of Footstepsinthesand will absolutely relish the fast ground at Epsom. He has run well there before so he handles the track and he was 3rd in a York G3 last August so he is still capable of mixing it at pattern level. Even with just two places on offer, Maries Diamond is worth chancing e/w at odds of 14/1.
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips: Maries Diamond e/w @ 14/1
1.30 – Betfred Derby (Group 1)
We have got two live ante-post bets for The Derby. Adelaide River at 66s and San Antonio at 40s. Our runner by runner guide can be viewed here. Good luck with whatever you back, hopefully it is a cracking renewal.
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips: Adelaide River e/w @ 66/1; San Antonio e/w @ 40/1
2.10 – Princess Elizabeth Stakes (Group 3)
Just six run and I don’t have a strong opinion. No bet.
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips: No Bet
2.45 – 3yo Dash Handicap (Class 2)
A high draw is usually a plus over 5f at Epsom but that is reflected in the current odds for this 3yo handicap. Although he is drawn pretty low in stall 5, Minnesota Lad might outrun his price now returned to faster ground.
Trained by Richard Fahey, this horse has only had good in the description once since winning his maiden on good to firm at Beverley (5f gd/fm). That resulted in a career best effort at Naas in the Goffs Sportsman Sales race at Naas (6f gd/yld). He finished 5th of 16 that day, 4L behind the winner Felix Natalis (rated 94) and 2l behind the runner up Miami Girl (rated 86) to whom he was giving 5lbs.
Since then, he ran on heavy at Doncaster and then was beat 10l on soft on his first run of 2023. Thanks to those runs he now races off a mark of just 79. On his Naas (and debut) form that looks a very tempting mark and if the son of Sioux Nation can rediscover that level back on good to firm ground, he should outrun his odds of 25/1.
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips: Minnesota Lad e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)
3.20 – Aston Martin Dash Handicap (Heritage)
On quick ground, this race will be over in the blink of an eye. Twenty speedsters are due to go to post and while a high draw is favourable, it isn’t impossible to win from a low stall. In the last seven years the winning stalls numbers have been 10, 13, 2, 16, 1, 17 and 1.
What is arguably going to be even more important on this fast ground is speed. One horse that won’t be lacking in that department is the George Boughey trained Navello. This 4yo son of Ivawood has won six of his twenty seven starts. He comes into the race on the back of two excellent efforts, a win at Thirsk (5f gd) off 84 and then a 1L 3rd at Windsor (5f gd/fm) off today’s mark of 88.
He remains a pound below his highest winning mark of 89. That win came over 5f at Chester, another track that favours speedy types. This horse is versatile tactically. He has been held up for his last two wins, but he has also won multiple races when racing more prominently. Boughey has applied the cheekpieces today, hopefully they have a similar effect on Navello as they did on Cadillac on Friday. At odds of 14/1, Novello is the e/w selection.
2023 Saturday Epsom Derby Festival Tips: Navello e/w @ 14/1 (6 places) NAP
3.55 – Lester Piggott Handicap (Class 2)
Our last bet of the Derby Festival is going to be on Cite d’Or. Trained by Harry Eustace, the top weight will have her burden eased by the 3lbs claim of Pierre-Louis Jamin. By Galiway, she comes into this race on the back of a dreadful effort at Chester (11.5f sft). However, previous to that she ran a blinder in a Listed heat over this C&D, and while it was on soft ground it was her second excellent effort from two previous Epsom outings.
It was good ground when she ran in a conditions race here as a 2yo and she just failed to get up by a neck (8f gd). That Listed run here is the only time she has run well on easy ground and it proved that this 10f trip should be within reach. Her UK form figures on good or quicker read 12142 and Harry Eustace has had 4 winners from his last 18 runners.
On her run here on soft she looks feasibly handicapped effectively racing off 94. She was only 1.5L behind the 111 rated Epictetus, since fifth in the Dante. In the hope that the return to this track and faster ground sparks a revival, Cite d’Or is the e/w selection at odds of 50/1.
