Wimbledon racing manager Gary Matthews was pleasantly surprised by the volume of entries for the William Hill Derby – 239 – but is now faced with advanced mathematics as he tries to make the numbers fit.
The withdrawal of Blackstone Zebo (hock) reduces the total by one*, but Matthews is hoping/predicting that the list will be whittled by another eight prior to Sunday’s draw. The objective is always to reduced the number of second round runners to 94.
He said: “I originally expected somewhere between 210-220 so was I bit surprised that it went as high as it did. The heats will be spread over the three nights (May 5, 6, 7) and if the number drops to 230, we will be looking at 18 heats with three to qualify and 21 qualifiers where the first two go through. (54+42=96). But until the day, we just don’t know.”
After suggesting that the leaders in the market are “short enough”, the Plough Lane grader has picked out three outsiders who he considers to be overpriced.
He said: “I like Yassoo Martin who is 100-1. He is draw dependent but given the split of seeds should see plenty of trap six and he has the times to back him up. I could imagine Diego Flight (66-1) going a long way, he ran a cracking sprint here yesterday, and I quite like the look of Willy Whitesocks who is priced with the sponsors at 150-1.
“You would also have to say that Domino Storm, who is absolutely flying, looks value at 50-1, though she will face tougher tests in the early pace department among the serious Derby dogs.
“The only surprise non-entries were Ballymac Mossjoe and Ballymac Ramsey”
** Opus Sky was withdrawn from the Derby this morning
YASSOO MARTIN Photo: Steve Nash
