Sea the Stars’s Knight To Behold Dominates the Derby Trial

[Wandering Eyes]

This looked a decent prep for the June 2 G1 Epsom Derby and so it proved, with Neil Jones’s Knight To Behold making all under Richard Kingscote to slam Ballydoyle’s well-supported Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) by 3 1/4 lengths. Sent off at 7-1, the Newmarket conditions scorer who hails from the family of the St Leger hero Millenary (GB) (Rainbow Quest) looked to be doing too much out on his own but kept piling on the pressure as the 8-11 favourite tried hard to peg him back in the straight. There was a further seven lengths back to Corelli (Point of Entry) in third, lending it further gravitas. Trainer Harry Dunlop is keen to have a tilt at the blue riband now. “That was very exciting and he’s improved a lot from last year,” he said. “He’s quite hard to gauge, as he was very babyish last year but was up for it today. The Derby certainly is an option and I know Neil Jones is keen on Royal Ascot as well. The way he won here, he has to have a go at the Derby–he quickened away and should improve quite a lot for this, as we’ve had niggly little things go wrong with him and the team have done a great job.”

KNIGHT TO BEHOLD (IRE), c, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Angel of the Gwaun (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells.
O-Neil Jones; B-Abergwaun Farms (IRE); T-Harry Dunlop; J-Richard Kingscote. £34,026. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, £43,477.

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