HAZ TO BE YOU Hat-trick seeker Frankie ready to Pour it on in Derby cracker
HAZAPOUR (nap) has the weaponry to down hot favourite Saxon Warrior and give Frankie Dettori a third triumph in the Investec Derby (4.30, ITV) at Epsom today.
The son of Shamardal has a connection with the world’s greatest Flat race – his ‘uncle’ Harzand gave trainer Dermot Weld a first victory and owner the Aga Khan a fifth – two years ago.
Hazapour got off the mark in his second race on soft ground at Galway last September before finishing third in the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown the following month.
He went off at 16-1 for his return in the Group 3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial over 10 furlongs at the Dublin venue last month. And he stated some convincing credentials for this afternoon’s test, travelling strongly behind the
FROM FRONT PAGE lead before surging to the front to beat Delano Roosevelt by threequarters of a length, with The Pentagon a neck away in third. And with an understated confidence, Master handler Weld (below) — adamant his colt possesses the poise to cope with the home of the Derby’s helterskelter — did not hesitate in nominating Epsom as the next stop. The pre-eminent Classic’s additional quarter mile will be of benefit to Hazapour, and connections’ securing of Dettori, the jockey in the plate for the successes of Authorized (2007) and Golden Horn (2015), is a masterstroke. Saxon Warrior has dominated the market for the race since he sprinted away with the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket four weeks ago, a race in which Masar returned in third. His chance of giving Aidan O’Brien a seventh Derby is there for all — including the bookies — to see, however, and, while his sire Deep Impact stayed well, the same cannot be said of his dam, 2011 Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine Maybe. Zabriskie and Sevenna Star have plenty to find, while Knight To Behold had the run of things when beating Kew Gardens for the Lingfield Derby Trial. Of greater appeal are Sevenna Star’s stablemate Roaring Lion, who impressed in York’s Dante, and the progressive Young Rascal, who comes here after landing the Chester Vase from Dee Ex Bee.