Champion trainer Mark Wallis believes he has the best English Derby team for many years.

The double Derby winner goes into the Star Sports/ARC sponsored event with a team of five, plus a reserve.

He said: “We’ve been quite weak on middle distance runners since ‘Bruisers’ and ‘Bombers’ in 2018.

“Not only are most of these very young, they are proper strong 490-500 metre types of dogs.

“Thankfully my owners have really stepped up to the mark, and I am really excited about the Derby this year and going forward for the other major four bend events.”

 

First to go to traps is the oldest of the quintet, Antigua Romeo. The May ’17 whelp was a slow burner in his first season and won just four of 24 races, with very few glimpses of his future potential.

Then almost exactly a year ago, something dropped into place and Romeo won 11 of his next 17 including a 28.86 track record for Hove’s 500m.

His last race before lockdown was a heat win in the Steel City Cup.

Mark said: “He knocked up a toe at home and had to be withdrawn. He was off during lock down, and then pulled a monkey muscle when we were bringing him back.

“Romford isn’t his ideal track but he has gained some fitness in a couple of races there and I was absolutely thrilled with his 29.58 trial over the Derby course last week. Clearly, he is over his issues.

“I am a bit surprised at his ante post price. Before lock down, I thought he was one of the best three middle distance runners in training and had the Derby had been run in April, I would have had him as a 33-1 chance.

“He is coming into the Derby as a fresh dog, getting fitter with every race and I would rate him – in terms of ability and racing experience, as our no.1 string at about 20-1. So 80-1 has to be great value as far as I am concerned.

“My biggest concern is his first round heat, which is very tough with lots of early pace. We re-seeded him to rails because he moved across from the outside, but the red (Look Like Power) can really go to the bend, so he will have to be at his best to get a clear run.”

The kennel is double represented in heat six with Antigua Boy and Sober Express.

Antigua Boy has no wins in his three UK races to date and was surprisingly beaten by a kennelmate not rated good enough to contest the Derby, Testing, in an open on Sunday.

Mark said: “I don’t think there is any doubt that he needs to find some form, to date the best you could say is it was ‘scratchy’.

“But go back just over a year and this is the dog who beat Ballymac Cooper by four lengths in 28.21 at Shelbourne Park.

“He is from that very good litter that included Kilara Icon and Kilara Lion and I am just hoping that we can rediscover the dog who used to be. He is 125-1 and I suppose we could best sum him up as ‘hopeful improver’.

Sober Express had three races in Ireland – all calculate at sub-29.00 at Kilkenny and made his UK debut at Towcester in July. He had five good quality graded races, winning three with a best of 29.62 (500), before switching to Romford’s 575.

The move wasn’t a particular success with no wins from four outings.

Mark said: “I don’t think he really took to Romford. On Towcester form I thought he was a 35.10 type, but he looked more a 35.50 dog and was knocked out in the semis of the Champion Stakes.

“But he does have some very high good middle distance pace as he showed at Towcester and we are yet to see the best of him.”

Hopes Bullet, formerly known as Rondeau was a purchase of the Bruiser-Jeal Syndicate following a couple of wins at Tralee (29.03, 28.77).

They were moderate enough races, though the blue showed fine pace from first to third in the second of them and won by 11 lengths.

He is yet to impress at Nottingham, beaten in his first two outings, but looked the real deal with a 29.50 win at Towcester last week.

Mark said: “I really like the look of him. He is a powerful looking blue, built like a tank and has incredible early pace. He was a bit lost in his first trialstake but ran very well in the next.

“He is very young, with only five races in his life, and that could work against him in this heat where the draw is horrendous. The one has been running from four and six, where the two wants to run is far from certain, and Patrick’s dog in four will definitely move across.

“I do think a lot of this young dog and if he was in trap one I would still fancy him. As it is, I would settle for qualification.

“Time is on our side with him and realistically, he would look better suited to next year’s Derby than this one – and that isn’t so far away.”

Wallis’ last runner is perhaps the most intriguing. Hopes Doggy clocked a calculated 29.02 on debut at Thurles last November when he was 17 months old and known as Surprise Me Now.

He had 10 races at Dundalk looking decent, rather than exceptional, clocking a best of 28.68 (FOY 28.14) for 525 yards.

But in August he ran two exceptional trials at Shelbourne Park: 28.20 (525) and 29.32 (550).

He is unraced for his new kennel with a sprint and two flying 500 trials at Nottingham, the first being a 29.56 run. Interestingly, he is currently two kilos lighter now than during his spell at Dundalk.

Mark said: “I was absolutely blown away by the 29.56 trial because he still hasn’t really settled in the kennel.

“I don’t know a lot about his history, for example, why he didn’t run in the Irish Derby, but those trials show he has ability. He is only a small dog, barely 31 kilos and a very fussy eater.

“Under normal circumstances, you would look at him and think, ‘there are four or five lengths in him once he has settled and is fully fit’.

“But that doesn’t make sense because I will be surprised if the Derby final is won much faster than 29.56.