Have we seen the winners of the Derby and Oaks? | The Front Page | Horse Racing News

An exclusive story in Sunday’s Racing Post headlines this week’s The Front Page.

Maddy Playle discusses how British racing is considering a radical new plan to monetize its top Flat events. The proposals involve racecourses ceding control of their most valuable assets to an international private equity or sovereign wealth fund.

France correspondent Scott Burton casts his eye over the Derby and the Oaks after a week of Classic trials at Chester, Lingfield and Leopardstown. Big performances from the likes of Los Angeles, Ambiente Friendly, You Got To Me and Forest Fairy come under the microscope.

West Country correspondent James Stevens reflects on an eventful week on track and highlights the importance of Mental Health Awareness week for racing and its participants.

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00:00 – Intro
02:33 – Is British Flat racing’s radical plan the solution to the sport’s ills?
20:47 – Waters muddied for Derby and Oaks after week of Classic trials
35:20 – Mental Health Awareness week
41:19 – Outro

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[Music] hello there and welcome along to this week’s edition of the front page the Racing Post show where we get our teeth stuck into the biggest and best stories of the past week this week I’m your host Maddie plel and we have scoured near and far for the Racing Post best I’m joined by our West country correspondent James Stevens in the studio and we have our France correspondent Scott Burton on the line as well who’s just about dried out from long SHP yesterday uh James lots to discuss this week can’t get can’t wait to get stuck into it um what have you been up to though anything to report uh it’s been busy enough um it’s quite part of a season now for me in the southwest just about got over the jump season and um yeah it’s quite enough we had some bit of news with with Jane Williams in her yard um being in a bit of a doldrums with with a well rape seed oil crop which was quite strange and bizarre so there’s always stuff going on in the offseason it seems like everyone’s taking out a dual license at the minute you’ve got the early start of a jump season and who’s jostling for the um conditional titles and stuff so the jump season’s busy but yeah I I must admit I’ll say it without being caught but I have quite enjoyed the start of a flat season as well keep it quiet keep it quiet you might upset people H and Scott what about you I mentioned the weather was pretty awful at long chump yesterday but some great performances on track and we’re going to get stuck into the classic Clues shortly yeah no it has also been a tailor two halves because I was in doville for two days before that the breeze up sale um where it was absolutely blazing sunshine and everybody wanted to spend time on the beach rather than than in the sales ring and then as you say to Long yesterday where the the French 1,000 guine was run on rattling fast ground in sunshine and then 35 minutes later they were sending the Cults back to the the saddling boxes because we had hailstones and torrential rain and the threat of thunder and lightning so yes it’s all been a bit um a bit strange so plenty to discuss on today’s show we’ve got the classic Trials of course a busy week at Chester lingfield and leopardstown yesterday with some movements in the classic markets for the Derby and the Oaks we’re going to get stuck in to those and see which the guys think have their best credentials for those Epsom Classics and then it’s been an eventful week on track for both horses and Riders James is going to discuss a little bit more about what’s been going on and what you might have missed there and just some of the risks that these jockeys take week in week out and how important that is but first our exclusive story exclusive in Sunday’s paper by Lee Ms head he always finds a way to get onto this show even when he’s not on the panel um is British Racing’s radical plan for its biggest flat event so this was as I say exclusive in in Sunday’s paper and it’s going to be potentially transformative for British racing um it’s all about how uh British racings leaders are going to consider combining flat racings biggest events into a single commercial entity now we’ve seen this happen in in other previous uh instances with different sports and basically it would require race courses to seed control of their most valuable assets to an International Private Equity or a sovereign wealth fund now this ties in well with the concept of premier of course the trial which will come to a close in 2026 and there’s different pieces of uh different pieces of work being undertaken in prep pration for that uh the industry’s commercial committee have agreed to launch a tender process whose chosen candidate will be asked to assess the merits of pulling up to 40 meetings uh of flat racings best and then to Source Global Partners who may be interested in investing in the business and then a second tender document which is hoped will be the sports most comprehensive piece and consumer research is set to them be completed in the Autumn all of this stemming from a pwbc report commissioned last year by thorough breed group and as I say this is racing exploring an Avenue which has previously been taken by the likes of Newcastle United it’s 80% owned by the Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund and it’s also come into play in Rugby Union and the women’s tennis Association as well so could this be a new dawn for British flat racing is it an exciting new venture or is it never going to get off the ground let’s see what this uh is going to mean for our Sport and what our panelists think of it um James first off I know it’s it’s an idea that you’re not particularly keen on tell us why but first off is is there some positives to be taken from the fact that racing is exploring new avenues well I don’t think you can ever criticize the the concept of looking at an issue identifying a problem and trying to find different ways to solve it than than haven’t been explored before so there’s there’s never any harm in thinking about different ideas um there were two elements to this the second of which was led by datadriven report lots of consumer research um I’m working on a piece in about sponsorship at the minute and and one of the things that a lot of race courses have said is that their businesses just absolutely the absolutely fundamental thing as consumer research so knowing what knowing what the audience wants knowing how to interact with them so the fact that there’s such a big project being done there is great in terms of this commercial stuff I’m I’m first and foremost I don’t think it’s going to happen I think I’m still scarred from my time working through Co um and looking at how racing was having to and change and work together and it just seemed impossible and the sport coming together to to solve something almost never happens in terms of this deal I’m massively against it I feel it’s almost like horse Racing’s Super League moment whereby it didn’t perhaps get the same social media uproar as as the football one did because I think people are aware it’s still very early days tender process words le le used and I think it is unlikely to happen I mean but it is a business sense that you sell the crown jewels which is like your last ditch strategy that’s what business people say I looked up on the train this morning and to me it’s just a complete and utter surrender of incompetence in that Premier racing isn’t working we can’t get people through the door so let’s sell it and make a bit of money and see if that works well it’s probably not and actually when you when you dig deep and think what what British flat racing has got it’s got the Derby Royal Ascot the guins the King George the Cent Ledger these races which not just Britain are huge or British culture huge but in in World sport those are huge names all the other jurisdictions a lot of it is taken from how we started that that fundamental platform that we created the sport with in Great Britain and and it’s almost really sad that we have to look at ways to sell it and we can’t promote it within ourselves so I think that is the thing I take from this is that it shouldn’t be about packaging it up sort of selling it and letting someone else do do what they want for it because the reason it is so successful and what draws people to Britain and why people all over the world look at Royal Ascot is because for years and years and years it has always been done in a certain way and people like that it’s tradition it carries a lot of a lot of weight um and and I and I think it would be a huge shame if if we we let somebody pay money to Tink with it and change it and take some of the things that makes it so popular not just globally but internationally uh but locally as well people like the meetings people like going to the derby to Raw lasot when you start changing it opens up a whole lot of things so I’m very cautious because for all on the front it might seem like a good idea giving someone that power allows them to change it and that might not be the direction we want it to go in okay in the piece it was referenced that industry insiders were saying this was highly improbable that the likes of Ascot the Jockey Club Etc would give up um their control over these fixtures I guess the thinking is is racing trapped by the way it’s structured and if so is this the only viable thing that can be done what I mean what do you think will have to happen in order for them to give up that control well I think they’ll have to agree that the sport is in such a dismal way that they need urgent action this is this is absolutely last itch it has to be I mean to give someone that power I mean there’s a lot of talk about it at the snook at the minute idea the idea that The Crucible could be uh The Crucible won’t longer hold the will no longer hold the snooker World Championship which is a huge thing and it would go abroad and be watched by that and and that in that sport it just really the mood in snooker about that move is just so negative it’s like this is the this is the big thing and to lose it would take so much away from the whole of the sport and and what racing does have as for all it has its problems and there are all the different issues that we we talk about in this show the actual product is is still pretty special I mean I was looking through all the flat races if you think about where you would find the races you most want to win in certain divisions only really the foray and the Ark and dirt races are ones that aren’t held in their respective decisions away from Britain so in terms of a product we have it’s it’s absolutely fantastic we’ve got a summer of jumping all across the country our racetracks are completely unique you’ve got different racetracks some of them are really Scenic and beautiful and to suddenly just look at that and say you know what let’s just look elsewhere and and try and give give a bit of that away it just sells some of the color of it this Sport and what British flat racing has got is is pretty exceptional it just needs to package itself and Market itself to really hit home with with um the British public to get people back racing which for many many years they did and it’s just that in a competitive sporting world it’s not quite what it once was but with a right management with this consumer-led research understanding what people want the data let the Data Drive there’s still there’s still a way that this sport will will absolutely Prosper without needing to give someone else that power okay Money Talks doesn’t it and Julie Harrington was saying that if there is enough of it and interest by these potential investors then it could be transformative for some of British flat Racing’s biggest events do you think this is the solution to the industry’s ills I’m not I I can’t say if anybody knows whether it’s the solution at the moment but I think there they there’s almost a deration of Duty not exploring it because as you referenced as Lee referenced in the piece many other sports are doing this um I mean as James said even even football the great uh Financial uh engine that is football uh explored a way of making all the clubs even more rich with with the European Super League um the most uh obvious uh comparison close to home would be the six nations of rugby where there is um private finance that bought a part of the equity in that and now there’s essentially it’s like a Seven Nations Championship if you like um with a A company that that now has invested considerably in in the tournament um hasn’t been any obvious change to the the tournament structure as such we’re not suddenly playing matches at 3: in the morning to suit a different television market or anything like that but you imagine that those investors do want to have some say in the future developments of it whatever that might be whether it’s inviting other countries in or or having promotion and relegation or changing the point structure or what what time of the year it’s played any of those sorts of things and I suppose that’s the question that that um British racings uh kind of major shareholders have to to say is if a potential investor a sovereign wealth fund or a private Equity Firm show some interest in it what kind of control would they have to seed um it’s maybe we shouldn’t pick out individual courses or individual um race course groups but clearly asket uh stages some of the most significant racing in in any potential package like that and even in comparison to something like the King George uh Roy asket is so unique and so different and is such a uh diplomatically delicate event because obviously everything is negotiated with the palace with the royal family um they have actually been quite clever in recent years there is quite a lot more commercial activity around Royal ASA it just very well camouflaged there are there’s uh official Insurance Partnerships and official timing and all the rest of it and there are Holdings at Royal asket if you know where to look for them a little bit the same way that Wimbledon Tennis have done it it’s kind of all done very Tastefully and in muted colors but there is there is money around ASA uh during ra ASA uh the five days of the meeting um so I think in some senses that would be the the biggest hurdle to it because any package that doesn’t involve those five days is probably dead in the water but I think if you look at the way that you mentioned newcast United 6 a good example of what happens when you don’t explore these kinds of options is what’s happening in professional golf which is an absolute car crash at the moment you have the private investment fund um obviously were not welcom with open arms by the uspga tour so set up a rival tour in the case of Liv golf uh and then there there’s now been uh since last due endless negotiations uh to try and see if the two sides can come together and have some Co post sanctioned events or whether uh those players who were basically bought off of the the PGA Tour uh including the then world number one John Ron went off to go and play for this this rival Saudi uh tour if whether there can be some sort of um coming together between them that is a complete mess and if you think horse Racing’s got a bizarre power structure they nothing on the PGA tour happens with about without to say so about five players who will sit on the Players Board and if Tiger Woods and Jordan SPI uh say no to something then it doesn’t happen that the the commissioner of the entire sport hasn’t got the power to override what what several of the the really key players say so um from that point of view horse racing may have a strange power structure in Britain but it’s by no means the strangest out there and I just think that um whilst a deal might be difficult to do and there are a lot of competing interests I think it’s it’s beholden on on um uh judie Harrington and people at the BHA the Jockey Club Royal aska to at least explore it because we keep looking for this step change that will try and uh turbocharge the finances of British flat racing MADD you go to you’ve been racing all over the world Dubai uh Japan Hong Kong these places have got so much more in terms of prize money and in terms of things that will entice people to own uh horses than is is available in Britain and we talk about Levy reform we talk about Premier isation but this something that could really inject uh category change amount of money into the sport I think you at least have to to to give it house house room in your head and and and explore it indeed and Jame James mentioned um the promotion of racing and how racing really needs to step up and and sell the sport maybe this could be the answer to that do you think realistically it’s something that could get off the ground given the structures in place and and the likely conversations that are going to be had how how realistic do you think it is I think anything that that that could increase the promotional budget for racing has to be welcomed I mean um uh Great British racing um I think you know there’s Fair criticism to be made of some of the projects that they’ve they’ve steered but they have done remarkably well in terms of delivering anything in terms of bang for what is a very small butt and I think anything that that um can uh increase the amount of money that can be spent to just put horse racing as an option for people’s leisure time in front of their eyes I mean even like a relatively uh small National advertising campaign on radio something which sounds like it should be the just a basic starter um would cost far more than the current system has got to spend on it you know in terms of actually uh you know they always say in politics that that you have to drum the message home so often that that those of you who are actually promoting the message you’re almost sick of hearing it before anybody really understands it and and it actually gets through to them I just think you know so many people that I know if you take them horse racing they have a fantastic time and they think why didn’t I think of doing this before and they just don’t know it’s out there as an option to do it and I think the kind of resources that are required to actually really present the sport to The Wider public um just requires quite a lot of extra money and we know that prize money is an issue we know that um uh governance is an issue everything costs money these days and I just think that we have to at least explore ways of trying to get extra money into into the sport okay James so a bit of balance there from Scott I think it’s fair to say can always rely on him for that um give you right of reply I guess what what would you like to see you you’re not a big fan of this idea of of um no there being sort of a a commercialization of flat Racing’s biggest event so what would you like to see what’s the Alternatives well no and one more Point actually on that is as I think that that we talk about golf we talk bit football and stuff and I think that one of the key things with what’s happened in those Sports is that there’s been this drive about bringing new people in New fans of a sport and and actually the people are neglected are actually the the real true fans of a sport and and I think often there are decisions made in this sport which perhaps sometimes forgets the the the racing core audience the the people who do already enjoy the sport and like and like various elements of it and and maybe that there are always people that are just a little bit forgotten about in The Wider context of getting new people in which is of course course massively important Premier racing has been a huge disappointment there’s there’s no two ways about it but um the budget hasn’t been there for it um it was described in December as hopelessly inadequate um Great British racing of a budget of 2 million um about 1 million of which has been spent on Premier racing or or various parts of that Pro process um in context of 100 which was the big cricket series when it launched they had 40 million and I think they they’ve got a lot more I can’t find the numbers as to how much it but it’s significantly more than 40 minutes to promote that and I think it’s very difficult because it’s like well Premier racing hasn’t been a success it’s been Loosely mentioned with a bit of signage and and and a nice nice logo um obviously the the premier race dates have come in and the prize money levels are good but in terms of actually going out and about one of the main objectives of going out and and as Scott mentions really finding it with with people and getting people to come racing the money’s not there so the pro the results haven’t been there so the whole sort of idea of a trial behind this is almost a wasted opportunity because the money and the investment’s not been in it so you don’t know what the results would have been it’s it’s it basically has been a waste of time because the money’s not been there the project the trial hasn’t been done fully so you can’t say look I think what needs to be done is is is this data stuff is huge that that’s that’s the main thing for me I think the idea of selling rights yeah look it’s good to explore things it’s good to see what the value is and to and to learn a bit more um tells you how desirable rating is certainly does and it would be a bit of a confidence boost for what we are selling I guess but I think that has to be seen as the last result we’ve got enough quality we’re in there’s a lot of good people in this sport that can guide it through Market the sport and as as as um Scott says racing is a fantastic day out it is just literally your case of resonating with people and going look there’s all this great stuff going on in the summer you can bring your kids for free it’s not too expensive if you get the right deals and it’s priced right have a good day out and people will come back it’s as simple as that James has summed it up nicely for us there then if you missed out on that Sunday exclusive on the front page of the Racing Post just remember it’s one of the excellent benefits you can get uh through our members Club subscription there’s also that Premier isation Special Report from Lee mods head as well check out our members Club offer here get 50% off your first three months in the Racing Post members Club as a member you get access to the digital newspaper exclusively available to members the night before you’ll get daily tips and the likes of pricewise Tom seagull Robbie Wilders and Paul Keeley enjoy award-winning journalism from the industry’s best writers and watch replays from all British and Irish racing now available within the Racing Post app subscribe today and get 50% off your first three months membership welcome back to the front page and it’s time to dig into some of the performances of last week now there’s been plenty of movers and shakers in the derby Market all started off on rather somber note though at Chester in the chest of ours when sadly Hidden Lore who was in the process of putting up a hugely exciting performance sadly suffered a fatal injury after the line um he looked a cult of real potential and our thoughts are with Charlie applebe and his team with the loss of hidden law because that certainly would have catapulted him towards the top of the Derby lists we also had capula winning the D Stakes for Aiden O’Brien and Ryan Moore ambient friendly for James F shaww and Callum Shepard firmly put his into the ring in the lingfield derby trial on Saturday that race produced the winner in Anthony van djk not so long ago now can this horse do the same he was a wide margin winner and then also at leopardstown on Sunday we had the group one winner Los Angeles returning with a gritty performance in that group three Derby trial so let’s see who impressed our panelists the most um James obviously a couple of really eye-catching performances hidden LW just incredibly sad um he was my early selection for the Derby uh what do you what do you make of the the market now let’s just run through them so city of Troy and Arabian Crown towards the top at fours Los Angeles and ambient friendly at 10 ancient wisdom 11s Diego Velasquez 16s Capulet 20s and bigger the remainder who’s caught your eye so I’m not convinced I’ve seen the Derby winner yet there there were times when I used to watch the trials and think you know what I’ve probably seen it I thought ambient friendly was very very impressive and the performance I think if it’s a sort of horse that I think if it was a 2 to one favorite for Aiden O’Brien this would have immediately gone favorite because it was a serious performance almost a textbook way to win a middle distance race traveled well throughout um quickened well and look he’s he’s clearly a very very good horse and exciting for all connections it’s nice to see um James fhaw and and Callum sheeper go to the derby with a leading hope great great to see um the one that caught my eye I thought from an ich way perspective was Illinois who has his very awkward way of of racing and is not the most straightforward and I just wonder whether there’s a little bit more from him to come he’s a really interesting horse um the only other horse I took out from the meeting was Grove in the square in in the vs was third beaten favorites a little bit disappointing but I saw him in the in the paddock and thought my my word I wouldn’t really want to be backing this horse around chess he’s a big sort of horse and I I I I looked at him and last night and saw 20 to1 for the Cent Ledger I think he’s a he’s a proper stair in the making I don’t think he’s a Darby horse so there were the two horses I took out but I always like the dantey that’s always the race I go back to so I think this week we’re ready to see a real standout um city of Troy is the interesting one that’s the one I just keep looking at and going what on Earth is going to happen I mean last year I was just all Augustus R down that that’s not going to win that that was that was rubbish in the guine but you just keep going back to him and the former last season and the horses he’s beaten and they’ve done this and the horses behind him have done this and that and he had that seriously special reputation he was sent off odds on on the guine compared to franor and I just wonder whether we’ll all be satting here in a few weeks time going four to one for the Derby why do we ever doubt him but I I think Illinois each way is is the bet for me at this stage and it’s interesting you’ve mentioned several Aiden O’Brien trained horses it’s been a funny couple of weeks for the yard hasn’t it very hit and miss his hor is coming on for the Run seemingly a lot do you think there’s been a change in Approach at Bal Doyle into how they condition these classic horses uh I don’t know I I I wouldn’t be 100% sure either why where we look at that I mean I thought the interesting one as you say k was capula who was beaten in the the Kentucky Derby trial race at chelsford and then improve for the D so I think sometimes you do just get Seasons where horses from a certain yard improve for their first run and I don’t I don’t know if it’s necessarily a change of of anything I wouldn’t know the yard too well but there are just every so often a year will do that particularly big Stables just one year they will just sometimes come on more for their first run than the major it’s interesting to watch but I wouldn’t rely on that being the case for years and years to come okay let’s uh see what Scott thinks Scott which of the Cults has really taken your ey for the Derby I’m not sure like James I have a Derby horse yet um talking about the way that that Aiden’s season has gone so far I think as you say he traditionally he always leaves something to work on with the the first run and for years with his guine winners he he if you like got away with it and then they they were able to kind of like a camel a lot to to to win the the 2000 guines on class and then go win the Derby when they were fully tuned up um I think the problem he had this year is it’s been such a wet spring um and wherever the rest of us may live Paris or London or wherever I imagine it’s been absolutely Dre in in in Tipperary so I I think possibly that that way of of gradually winding them up and then having them come on I think has been problematic for him this year um it’s been problematic for every racehorse trainer but I think a lot of them looked like they needed the run so from that point of view um I really actually was quite impressed with Los Angeles yesterday um I have he’s actually one of Aiden that I’ve seen in the flesh because he won at s clue last back end um beat a horse of Joseph O’Brien’s called Island In The Stream who’s since been sold to Hong Kong um and uh he’s a again a little bit like roben square a big unit big heavy shouldered uh horse who you would have thought given the way some of Aiden’s have have run would have um would have needed the run and would definitely come on for it so the fact that he’s actually managed to win uh I think spoke well for him as I say he’s a very sort of uh striking striking individual I thought Capulet did nothing wrong in winning the the the D Stakes as well but it has been a year when uh certainly in the mile Classics um uh the the result of the trials has been totally turned on its head when we’ve actually got to the got to the the the the classics themselves if you looked to obviously at the 1,000 guine el el Mala was was was third in her trial um the two French Classics yesterday uh the the winner of the Phillies classic uh Rivia was third in her trial Metropolitan was fifth of six in his trial so um I think possibly you might end up looking at some of the beaten horses um and think well maybe there is something something there I mean agenda obviously was well beaten by by poor old hidden law um I’m just about old enough to remember uh a cult of s Michael Stouts or then Michael Stouts called Miller’s mate who uh won the wood D and went to the chest of ours with an enormous reputation and was he was virtually favorite for the W before he even ran the wood D um and he suffered an injury uh during the the uh the vs and fortunately they were able to save him but the horse that beat him Law Society then went on to be second in the derby behind slip hanker so um it might be one of those years where you you don’t want to Chuck out everything that finishes behind the trial winners because um uh you know as I say especially with a perspective that some of these horses are going to come on a lot for their their run um the the Dante obviously is going to be going to be crucial as well um there was a couple of bits of form over the weekend that probably uh showed the ancient wisdom uh one a particularly good although it was terrible ground at the end of last year the Futurity was probably quite good race dancing Gemini who didn’t really coope with the ground at at Doner last year ran an absolute screamer in the French 2000 yesterday um and Diego Velasquez who also didn’t really cope with the ground at donca he ran on very very well for fourth and and he’s got form with Capulet as well he if they decided to step him up to a mile and a half Diego velasque is would probably carry a bit of hway money for me but um but Los Angeles would be tentatively the one at the moment both of those shape like incredibly strong stairs don’t they and Scott given this is your story I will hand over to you now to talk about the Phillies there were some good performances from the likes of forest faery you got to me and uh the the runner up at lingfield as well yeah Forest fer I like a lot um she she went in the tracker um when she won at uh at wolver Hampton by six length on on on debut and um you know the Derby for and the Oaks for so many years have been been Galileo’s race and obviously we no longer have Galileo now but vist obviously is a horse that I followed he was trained here in front won the AR for for Andre fa and Gish at amarand and uh Forest fery is is a very very uh she she traveled really really well during during the chesher Oaks and it took quite a long time for Rossa Ryan to to find the Gap and she kind of did it pretty she really only had a furong to to work with and although she wasn’t very far ahead of of Port fery at the line I thought she did it very very well and um you know there are not that many trainers you look for outside side of John gston uh Charlie applebe and Aiden O’Brien when it comes to the epom classics but ra Becket is definitely W and um he obviously won won the the uh the linkfield trial as well and and he’s in the past he’s actually won the Oaks with his second string but I I really really like Forest fair and I think she um I think she’s still about 8 to one or something like that I think that that’s a decent decent bet let’s run you through some of those Oaks prices then El langang 5 to2 friendly sold the Pretty Polly win at 10 Ruby are red who was the runner up in that lingfield trial at 12s with Tam farer who was the eye catcher in the 1,000 guies then Forest fa at 14s aelia at 14s you got to me at 16s and it’s 20 to one um bar uh Scott just ases um you know you’re looking over this crop of three-year-olds what’s your instinct on on how good they are and is it is it a crop that’s really igniting your interest as as previous years have done what is it about the the classic campaign that that you know really was racing so well do you think I suppose we we want an absolute star and we want because especially in Britain and Ireland we put a big premium on two-year-old racing so an unbeaten jeur winner like city of Troy is that helps sell flat racing during the winter in a way here that in France probably isn’t the case because plenty of the trainers are kind of Jon rouer and Andre fa might not run their best uh horse in a group one at the end of the season they might give them a much quieter campaign and then then bring bring them through in a trial at three but I think we that’s what we want and obviously city of Troy didn’t put up any kind of a performance at all Henry Longfellow uh never really got in the race in the French 2000 yesterday don’t forget he was an unbeaten group one uh winner as well and I suppose from that point of view that’s where Los Angeles just does come in because he’s still unbeaten um he won a group one last year or be probably one that’s not on many British or Irish punter’s radar uh and he could be the one that that is ready to take that step forward um he’ll probably still be a price come come uh Derby day because Ry Mo’s never ridden him he’s had three runs now and I think Shamy heam rode him on his debut Kristoff sume on rode him at s clue last year and then obviously Wayne Lorden yesterday and if city of Troy goes to Derby it’s inconceivable to me that Ryan Mo won’t be riding him whether they think he’s he’s uh really stepped up from his 2,000 guine uh run or not he’s just such an important horse to them uh that um somebody somewhere Wayne or or or Dylan Brown mcgonagle mcmonagle somebody is going to get a very good spare ride on Los Angeles and um it’s just I think you know it would be nice to say that after the 2,000 guins and the 1,000 guins that that we already have a kind of a real flag uh carrier for the year but I think it’s probably going to be down to the derby to do it um but there’s no better place to find out than Epsom is there there absolutely isn’t maybe the proof will be in the pudding with the jockey bookings then Scott seems toest at least for the Derby James just before we move on to your story I want to pose you a question um Kieran schar in a new role with the gosin this year rode a short price fany Danielle in that Oaks trial and what have you make of the start that he’s made it hasn’t all been plain sailing so far how do you think the rest of the season’s going to go no flat racing is the season of the Season just goes so quick it’s ratat tat it’s big rides um every sort of few weeks and and he hasn’t had that big moment yet that every big jockey when they have that they just need a moment to say right that was a day sign seal delivered great ride from Kieran sh it could come this weekend with ins spiral that is the sort of ride you’re looking at when a jockey doesn’t have a winner whether it’s for a new yard or or whether it’s they just rolling out their claim there’s always a few eyes when those when they haven’t ridden a winner for some time and and everyone watch so the pressure will be on him on Saturday that’s a big opportunity he’s got the shoes of Frankie Dori to fill which is not not an easy thing to do um but Saturday’s a big day if he if he wins the lock in John inspiral gets a group one all be well you you just don’t want these things hanging over you because it adds pressure it gets gets people like us talking which is never what jockeys want they just want to go out their business and and ride winners so Saturday will be a big day we’ll see what happens after that um but I can’t go away without speak speaking about rubis a red who is absolutely my fancy for the Oaks I was so why that this horse looked completely lost and beaten at lingfield and the way she finished that that race was absolutely caught my eye I was so surprised by it um time was pretty good uh she was quick of an ambient friendly from five fongs out sectionals read well wasn’t just how she looked visibly and she just looked like every furong she was just getting uh sort of improving with the whole experience it was a hell of a run and in an Oaks where there’s a few doubts I saw her at 10 to1 I just think that’s an absolute bet because she know she’ll stay the trip great pedigree right connections aen Bri seems to win The Oaks it seems particularly with his second and third string she that was a It Was a Race which wasn’t particularly well I think it was a great R from the front from Hector Crouch I think she was definitely to one take out the weekend she’s a really nice she’s a really nice horse and 10 to one I think that’s a hell of a price there you are then James Stevens with his bet Fred Oaks tip for you remember uh on the Racing Post website you’ve got all the Tipping and insight you need to keep up to date with we’re going to move on to our final story of the day now and that’s back over to James and a poignant one this because this week is Mental Health Awareness Week James and there’s a couple of uh tangents of stories that you’d like to discuss just tell us about about your thinking this week yeah so I think it’s important that we remember Mental Health Awareness Week in racing because there are so many different ways it impacts people from whether they’re participants in the sport to whether they um watch it as a fan or spectator someone who bets on the sport so it’s important just to to Mark these things there’s a lot of stuff out there for a good reason and I think we saw this week some of some of what can happen in the sport so um I was doing a bit of race course reporting this week um and saw possibly one of the worst things I’ve seen on Race which was an incident at fontwell where Shawn Bowen was unseated um and it looked watching it live as if the horse behind him had jumped into him and only then a couple of seconds later did the commentator pick it up and he just walked away as if like nothing had happened which is absolutely unbelievable how he was okay the slow motion replays um show how close he was to a potentially hugely serious in incident um two days later William easterby um he suffered a really bad injury um at Market raisin for a fall um suspected to break a collar bone um and unfortunately here his MK Betty BL um died from the incident which is extremely sad for all connections um also at fontwell we had thomasine uh Eon I think that pronouncing that right stretched off on the same card apologies if I fudge the pronunciation there um she had some sort of a pelvis injury believe and then Nick slay Nick slatter yesterday um looked to have sort of a horse land quite awkwardly with him after a fall at dudlow so all these instance happen on on Race courses and I and I wanted to link it back because we hear a lot all the time and I hear this constantly from trainers and jockey saying we go out about our business we go about our day job and we get slated on social media when we have a loser because these people have incredible Pride so when when they do ride a loser the last thing you need is to be having a lot of abuse and I think sometimes when you look at these instance it reminds you I mean you don’t need the reminder but it just does remind you about the risk they take every single day s the sport is what it is um we of course had the tragic news about hidden law and and Echo War you said about Charlie aaban thoughts of them um this game can be up this game can be down and I think on a week like this where there’s so much talk about mental health awareness it’s just worth saying that this whole desperate scene of people getting lots of online abuse it it’s just really staggering and if anyone out there is perhaps watching the show that has potentially done it or or knows someone who would have a word because there is just absolutely no need for it in the sport anymore and even this week I mentioned at the top of the show Jane Williams she had a seven to four shot beaten and all these problems with the yard because of the next door neighbor growing this crop she had so much abuse that week from that seven to four sh getting beat one of the reasons she said she she put in the call to us is because she didn’t want horses to run and to be beaten and then have sort of to deal with that which is you shouldn’t have to deal with that you should be able to go about your job without having to care what somebody who will probably never meet you have to say so hopefully this week um there’ll be lots of lots of content throughout all the sport but I think it’s just an important point to make um because unfortunately it does happen so often absolutely and it’s worth remembering um if you’re after to support the likes of racing welfare Etc offer that in Spades and there are there people to listen to yourk concerns and worries um Scott over to you obviously it’s it’s a very important week this um just tell us about why why you think so and and how you’ve been impacted by by this sort of thing well I think you only have to look the tragic news from Ireland um over the weekend last weekend uh we lost Michael burn at the age of of 36 um a guy who had a a very very good riding career mostly actually in in Britain uh with with Tim Vaughn um you never really know when people are are hurting or struggling um there’s obviously been a number of very difficult uh issues come up with with uh even something like Stephan o churchy killed on the race course you think about the people who were close to him who the way that you have to process these things and in a lot of cases with the the the actual uh sort of more public facing uh members of the sport jockies and trainers they have to deal with this kind of thing in the glare the public as well and I just think um any any way that we can all just be a bit kinder to one another as you say racing F Weare do an incredible job but just to just look out for one another uh and just you know take somebody for a cup of coffee and just check in with them every now and then I just think anything that anybody can do in any Walk of Life but horse racing is particularly uh difficult uh environment because compared to any other sport you’re going to lose an awful lot more often if you’re a jockey kind of coming through the ranks uh and you have to go and go out and ride and you might if you’re not Ryan Moore or William Buick or or Harry cin or whatever you probably if you win one in 20 races you’re actually having quite a good season that means you’re getting beaten 19 times and as you say the the trolls at the race course but specifically the anonymity that social media conveys I just think uh it’s behold on all of us as you say if you know somebody who engages in that kind of of uh activity on on social media or you even kind of suspect it because of something they’ve said to you on a race course or in a pub or whatever then then have a word with them but just just for S to look out for one another a bit more it’s an incredibly poignant message and uh a natural and important way to end Today’s Show I think thank you so much for joining us before we leave though I have to uh give the honor to who’s going to be on this week’s front page and given that it is my first time in the presenting chair I’m going to give it to myself um and basically Lee M said um as I true Lee M said style as well he’s winning even when he’s not here uh I just think the the new proposals um about how there could be radical changes uh to Flat Racing’s biggest events it’s such a new idea for racing anyway and it’s going to open up lots of conversation and lots of avenues there so I think I’ll put that on a top for this week um but thank you very much much for joining us uh we’ll see you again next week and uh yeah good luck with your punting and enjoy the racing this week