Permian earns Crack at Derby
CraCksman was pulled out of the Betfred Dante stakes at York yesterday, but still ended up vying for favouritism for the Derby after victory went to the colt he beat at Epsom last month.
Permian went down by a short-head to Cracksman but the fast-improving son of Teofilo will be supplemented to the Investec- sponsored Classic on June 3 at a cost of £85,000 after he beat Benbatl three- quarters of a length under jockey Franny norton.
surprisingly given his reputation as a prolific producer of strong staying horses, Permian will only be mark Johnston’s fifth Derby runner and his first since atlantic Waves finished 15th in 2006.
many observers thought John Gosden’s Cracksman, 4-1 joint Derby favourite with aidan O’Brien’s 2,000 Guineas winner Churchill, to be more superior than his official winning margin at Epsom given he had to overcome trouble in running.
But Johnston was adamant he would not fear a rematch. Permian had won the Listed newmarket stakes last time out, but started his season with a third place in a Bath handicap last month. now 16-1 for the Derby, he had been a £12,000 late additional entry to yesterday’s race. Johnston (below) said: ‘It’s a while since I’ve had a live chance in the Derby. I can’t say I was not fearing Cracksman here. ‘We held him in a bit and got first run at Epsom. He looked in trouble and he still managed to beat us. But Permian looked to have come on a lot from Epsom to newmarket and he has come on again.’ The Group Two win was the most prestigious win of norton’s career. Whether he retains the ride for Epsom remains to be seen. sheik mohammed’s son owns the horse and the sheik has a few regular jockeys who might be interested in the mount. runner-up Benbatl could head to the Derby according to trainer saeed bin suroor but sir michael stoute, while conceding it would ultimately be the owner’s call, indicated he would recommend missing Epsom with Dante third Crystal Ocean. TraInEr alan swinbank, who trained over 700 winners, has died suddenly at the age of 72.