Last night’s blog selection Wichita Line was in the process of running her best race of the season but she was brought down just as she was starting to stay on. There was absolutely nothing that Gary Carroll could do to avoid the mishap and it was a real pity as Mick Mulvany had already fired in a double and I think a treble could have been on the cards for him if this filly had stayed upright. She was backed into 12/1 too and she is definitely one that got away.
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| Saxon Warrior is clear favourite for the Espom Derby 2018. |
The Epsom Derby is less than two weeks away and my 2000 Guineas pick (read here) Saxon Warrior is a warm order to follow up in the big one. The son of Deep Impact won in impressive fashion at Newmarket and he should be even better over 12f. However, he is now odds on and at after looking through some race replays last night I have decided to put up another son of Deep Impact as an each way alternative.
Pascal Bary is a French trainer who is no stranger to success on his home turf or on the international stage. He has yet to win an English Derby, but he won the Irish version back in 1998 with Dream Well and he has also won a 1000 Guineas with Nagatora in 1998. His biggest win probably came when Gloria de Campeao won the prestigious Dubai World Cup back in 2010.
It has been a while since Bary has had a top class horse to go to war with, but in Study Of Man I think he might have something special. Deep Impact is a sire I have huge respect for and I always thought it was a pity he never ran in the UK or Ireland during his illustrious career as a racehorse. He was a superstar in Japan, winning seven Group 1s, and he is proving to be just as good a sire.
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| Study Of Man displayed a nice turn of foot last time. |
Study Of Man is by Deep Impact and out of a Storm Cat mare who didn’t exactly pull up any trees on her sole start. However, she is related to a host of black type performers, including top class miler Kingmambo and Prix de Diane (10f) winner East Of The Moon. Study Of Man’s Grand-dam is none other than Miesque, a ten time Group 1 winner at up to a mile, so as pedigrees go I have seen worse!
He won his sole 2yo run easily and he was instantly stepped up in class on his seasonal return in the Group 3 Prix la Force at Longchamp. He found Chilean too good over 9f on heavy ground, staying on strongly in the closing stages after the winner had got first run. I think it was a cracking effort from a horse having just his second career start on ground that he would have been far from comfortable on.
He left that form well behind stepped up into Group 2 company and also up in trip to 10.5f in the Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud, his first ever start on good ground. With just four runners in the field the race wasn’t run at a breakneck pace but even so, once Stephane Pasquier switched his mount to the outside as they entered the home straight he took off, and with just one smack of the persuader 200m out Study Of Man quickly put the race to bed, displaying a serious turn of foot in the process.
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| Deep Impact is a sire to keep onside. |
That was the same race that Por Moi won before going on to glory at Epsom and Study Of Man seemed to relish the decent underfoot conditions at Saint-Cloud. Although there are doubts regarding the suitability of the Derby trip on the dam side of his pedigree, his sire Deep Impact has already shown that he is a big stamina influence. Kizuna, another son of Deep Impact also out of a Storm Cat mare, won the Japanese Derby and the Prix Niel (beat Ruler Of The World) over 12f.
12f around Epsom is viewed by many as the ultimate test of a thoroughbred and with just three career starts a lack of experience could catch Study Of Man out against more seasoned rivals. This race will be run at a much truer pace than his last outing and he will need to get every inch of the 12f trip. However, I was very impressed with the manner of his last win, he has a blue blooded pedigree and he wasn’t stopping over 10.5f at Saint Cloud. At odds of 33/1 I think he represents serious each way value in a Derby that I believe lacks strength in depth.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: EPSOM DERBY 2018 -STUDY OF MAN E/W @ 33/1
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