Fansbet Ambassador Rab Havlin's Derby Blog Hopefully by the time you read this I’ll have had some good fortune at Epsom on Friday, courtesy of my big race rides on Mehdaayih and Angel’s Hideaway, but either way the show must go on, especially as I’ll be riding in what looks a wide-open Derby on Saturday afternoon (4.30pm). I sat on my mount for the £1.6m Classic briefly on Friday morning, and can report Humanitarian showed all the right signals; fresh, well and ready to roll. In what looks a very open year I hope the bookies are wrong to have underestimated him. I appreciate he hasn’t run in a recognised trial, but that aside he’s shown plenty of the attributes needed to be competitive in a Derby. Second to stablemate Kick On first time out, who incidentally I think will run very well in the French Derby on Sunday, I then rode him to win very easily at Lingfield over a mile in November. Handling that track is a good omen for dealing with the challenge of Epsom. I was also on him when he did the job very nicely from the front at Salisbury a couple of weeks ago, a race in which he wasn’t doing a stroke in front over a mile and a quarter, suggesting a mile and a half could be just the ticket. I don’t expect a quick surface to be a problem and in my eyes there’s no way he should be 50/1 or 66/1. Admittedly he has to find lots more improvement for the step up in trip, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did. Don’t write him off anyway. Of those at shorter odds, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan Moore turns out to have chosen the wrong one, as in fairness it must be borderline impossible trying to figure out which of Aidan O’Brien’s seven runners is best at this stage. His horse, Sir Dragnonet, was deeply impressive when taking his trial race at Chester, but don’t forget that was on very different ground. Broome has looked fantastic and is clearly rapidly progressing, but maybe Frankie might be on the right one in the shape of Circus Maximus. He picked up nicely at Chester in the Dee Stakes, plus a pair of first time cheekpieces might eke out a pound or two. It’ll be some race, but fingers crossed my lad can significantly outrun his big odds. To read more Fansbet Blogs click here
