Doyle on Damysus: ‘He’s Got All the Little Things You Need at Epsom’

[Wandering Eyes]

Epsom's traditional Derby gallops morning attracted three of the 25 colts remaining in contention for this year's Betfred Derby, including a duo from the stable of John and Thady Gosden.

Wathnan Racing's Damysus and Juddmonte's Nightwalker, both by Frankel, stretched out around the unique curves and camber of the Surrey track in tandem, and Thady Gosden appeared to be encouraged by the morning's exercise away from Newmarket.

“They both handled it very well. They're very intelligent horses, the pair of them, really taking it in. You could see Damysus pricking his ears coming to the line,” he said of the colts, who were second and fifth respectively in the Dante Stakes at York.

“It's not the easiest race to prepare for – obviously coming here this morning helps but it's a unique test of everything and until you actually get to it you don't really know how it's going to go.

“Neither of them had hugely hard races in the Dante, they were both doing their best work late on. These are two horses that we think will suit [Epsom] well. It'll be another step up in the Derby, as it should be, but we're very happy with them both at the moment.”

Wathnan Racing's retained jockey James Doyle, who has recently returned from injury, was aboard Damysus, whose dam Legerete (Rahy) won the G2 Prix de Malleret over a mile and a half. He said of the flashy chestnut, “His temperament is pretty rock solid and he was very relaxed this morning, got a nice lead round. He's a very neat horse with a quick action, very well balanced and he relaxed beautifully on the way round. The track shouldn't be a problem for him, judged on today.

“He's got all the little things you need at Epsom – obviously it'll be different on the day, but just doing a gallop around here he got all those little things right, switching his leads at the right time, getting balanced up across the road at Tattenham Corner and then into the straight he flicked his leads again and kind of felt like a little motorbike the way he was down there so hopefully he handles it that well in the actual race.”

Doyle also has inside knowledge of the 2,000 Guineas winner and Derby third-favourite Ruling Court, having ridden him in a racecourse gallop during Craven week. He said of the Godolphin colt, “I think Ruling Court probably isn't getting the respect he deserves. He's a horse with a lot of natural pace.”

Rab Havlin, who was second in last year's Derby on Ambiente Friendly, rode Nightwalker in the gallop. “I thought he had learnt a bit from the Dante as he has been a horse that's been quite a slow learner,” he said. “In the Dante he was a bit naive about things and lugging left but straightened up in the final furlong and hit the line strong.”

The Juddmonte homebred is out of Sleep Walk, an Oasis Dream half-sister to the St Leger winner Logician. 

Havlin continued, “It looked like he wanted a mile and a half in the Dante. The fractions were slow and he had a wide stall that day – the plan had been to go forward but he was so slowly away and it became a bit of a three-and-a-half furlong sprint. He was aways playing catch-up but I was really happy with the way he found a gear. A step up in trip will be a big plus.”

Joining the Gosden pair at Epsom was the thrice-raced Al Wasl Storm, the winner of a Chester maiden on his last start for Owen Burrows. The colt is by Affinisea, who is more commonly regarded as a National Hunt sire but is by a Derby winner in Sea The Stars and is a half-brother to the Irish Derby winner Soldier Of Fortune. Al Wasl Storm's owner Ahmad Al Shaikh has an extraordinary record in the Derby, with his Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal each having finished second at odds of 50/1 and 150/1. He also owned the fourth and fifth horses home in last year's race, Deira Mile (25/1) and Sayedaty Sadaty (50/1).

 

Al Wasl Storm and David Probert | John Hoy/The Jockey Club

 

 

“When he came to us I had to look up the stallion as I'd never heard of him,” said Burrows after watching Al Wasl Storm at Epsom. “But even last year – I didn't get him until summertime last year – he showed a bit in his work. He's not a typical jumps-bred horse. He's not a big unit, he's well balanced and moves well. He'd always shown he had ability so it's not been a complete surprise.”

He added, “Ahmad has been second in The Derby twice with 50-1 and 150-1 shots and he's so passionate about the race – it's his life goal, as such, so if we could be the one to tick that off, that would be massive. As long as he can run well and do us proud then we'll be happy.”

He added of the €7,000 foal purchase, “I'm very realistic – he is only rated 86 so I'm not going to tell you that he is going to outrun his odds, but we'd like to think he'll handle the place and he'll be galloping at the end. He should be staying, and staying well.

“This horse has a different profile with his breeding but is a horse who is improving with every run and I was pleased with what I saw there. On ratings he's got a huge job to find but the owner has been very lucky, he's rolled the dice a few times and not been too far away, so hopefully we can do the same again.”

David Probert, who rode Hoo Ya Mal in the Derby for Al Shaikh, was aboard Al Wasl Storm and said, “Mentally, this horse has come on since Chester but is still quite raw. He did it the hard way from the front at Chester but galloped on relentlessly. I would imagine a mile and a half around a track like this would suit him as he is a well-balanced horse with a good mind on him. He handled the sharp bends well at Chester so there is no reason to believe he wouldn't handle a track like Epsom.”

 

 

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