Dante hero Telecaster gets Derby green light
Trainer Hughie Morrison has spiced up Saturday’s investec Derby by giving the green light for Dante Stakes winner Telecaster to run. Doubts about the participation of the colt, who will be ridden by Oisin Murphy, had persisted with Morrison wanting to make sure the son of new approach had got over the exertions of beating Too Darn Hot in the Dante at York on May 16. That was settled after Murphy rode Telecaster, who has only raced three times, yesterday morning and Morrison gave the all-clear for an £85,000 supplementary entry fee to be paid. Morrison, whose only previous Derby runner Pisco Sour finished ninth to Pour Moi in 2011, said: ‘it was an easy decision in as much as we have had a smooth run with the horse since the Dante and we were happy with him. We have not had any concerns with him since. ‘Oisin sat on him this morning and gave him a breeze over five furlongs and he gave us the thumbs up. We all felt it was part of one’s responsibilities to do one’s upmost to turn up for the race. ‘The difficult part will be the next five days hoping we have not wasted the money! So many things can go wrong.’ Murphy, who rode a treble at Windsor yesterday, will be having his fifth Derby ride. Fifteen possibles remain in the race with eight of them trained by aidan O’Brien, the man chasing a recordequalling seventh Derby win. as expected, O’Brien also supplemented ante-post favourite and Chester Vase winner Sir Dragonet. O’Brien’s other Derby entries are anthony Van Dyck, Cape Of Good Hope, Circus Maximus, Broome, Japan, norway and Sovereign. The heartening statistic for those up against the O’Brien army is that he failed to saddle the winner when he ran eight in the 2007 Derby won by authorized.