Hazapour storms into Derby reckoning
Hazapour galloped his way into the Investec Derby picture with a convincing victory in yesterday’s Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown.
The colt, a nephew of Dermot Weld’s 2016 Derby winner, the Aga Khan-owned Harzand, had only won a Galway maiden from three starts last year, but has clearly thrived during the winter and this was a pleasing display.
He got better the farther he went and the manner in which he stayed on in the final furlong suggests the extra quarter-mile at Epsom will suit him well. He is a 12-1 chance.
Weld, who was winning the race for the ninth time, said: “He is a horse I’ve really liked. He is a very balanced colt. I thought he did it very nicely when he won his maiden at Galway.
“The horse he beat easily of Aidan’s has been running at a good level. He has developed over the winter and has progressed very nicely. He worked beautifully the other morning and has very similar characteristics to Harzand. He is very tough and is a very genuine colt. He is very adaptable groundwise.”
Olmedo finished strongly to win the French 2,000 Guineas at Parislongchamp, beating the James Tate-trained Hey Gaman by a neck.
After the race, a number of jockeys voiced their concerns over the ground following an incident on one of the bends where Aidan O’brien’s US Navy Flag appeared to slip and lose his stride. The 1,000 Guineas was delayed by 30 minutes because of an inquiry.
It was decided to run the race on the outer track instead and the David Simcock-trained 12-1 chance Teppal bravely won a bunch finish – only six lengths covered the whole field – to give the trainer his first Classic success.
Simcock said: “She saw it out well, which was a big worry, but she got it well. I wasn’t that confident because of the stamina issue and the rain last night, but the one thing she is, is classy.”