We set off at 10pm tonight on the final leg of our English Derby attempt. Having started off with 11 entries, we are down to just one for the final, Clonbrien Prince.
We have seven runners and will be bringing over two vans on the ferry. If all goes to plan we should be at Dave Firmager’s kennel at around 10.30am on Saturday morning.
It may surprise some people that our runners are travelling over the night before the race, but it is a tried and tested routine and the dogs seem happy with it. They have traveled well and are comfortable in the soundings at Dave’s kennels for a few hours before we set off for the track. Prince is actually kenneled with Riverside Honey so he should be quite content.
Everything has gone to plan in terms of the preparation. There are no niggles, we have done everything we can to have the dog in the best possible shape on the night; it is now down to him.
Prince is not a nervous type and has experienced various big nights. There is a special atmosphere generated on the big occasions and some dogs don’t respond well to it. I don’t have any of those worries about Prince.
Obviously the draw has thrown a spanner into the works. In all honesty, if Magical Bale had drawn stripes and we had our perfect box in three, I might feel under a bit more pressure. As it is, there is no special expectation. I don’t know how Prince will go from trap six, he has never run from stripes in his career.
To win the race, he has to at least break on terms, if not better than he has done to date. I think that at his best, he has more early pace than some of those on his inside, though whether he could cut across and take the bend off Magical Bale is another matter. In my opinion, even though trap one isn’t a favourable trap, Bale is still the one we all have to beat.
But I am genuinely looking forward to it. My only hope is that all the dogs come off the track sound, and anything else is honestly secondary to that.
Of our six other runners, we have two in each of two races. It stars off with the Derby Plate where we have Nice Charmer and Wolfe.
I was pleased to see Nice Charmer show what a genuinely gutsy dog he is in the heats. He uses his body to make sure nothing gets past and I just love his winning attitude.
But I think you would need to be blind not to see how unlucky Wolfe was in that race and I fancy him to reverse the form. I think a lot of the dog and trap five should give him a much better chance of taking the bend smoothly. He may not be the quickest from the traps, but he has great early and I am expecting a big run from him.
Our next two runners are in the Terry Corden Anglo Irish which is a race I was determined to have runners in. Terry had dogs with me and I thought the world of the man. I would love to win the race staged in his honour.
Of our two, I would have to favour Totos Park based on a couple of factors. Firstly, he is probably fitter than Macaroon Cruz who will probably appreciate the race after a few niggles and setbacks. Secondly, I think the course and distance is more in his favour. Cruz would appreciate a bit further but this is ideal for Totos who ran a cracker last week at Shelbourne.
Newinn Shadow goes in the veterans race and what will be his last race for us before retirement. He is getting on now but I would expect him to make a decent show. Obviously, he is a long way past the dog who Charlie won an East Anglian Derby with, but he is in good shape; he ran very well at Shelbourne last week. I have put a bit of weight on him and he looks a picture.
Our last runner is Riverside Honey. She is owned by my most difficult owner – the missus. Well technically the three kids, Rachel, Timmy and Christopher.
Honey has never been over this trip before but she is a 28.70 bitch who was running on strongly in her 720 and 750 yard races. Will she stay? I don’t know, but I think she might. I certainly think she will take some beating if she comes away.
Whatever happens, we are looking forward to a great night.
