The powerful stables of Aidan O'Brien and Saeed bin Suroor appear to hold the keys to the Gartner Derby Trial at Lingfield on Saturday with six of the 15 entries announced yesterday between them.
O'Brien can choose between Apollo Victoria, Bashkir, Mythological and Royal Kingdom in the Group Three contest.
Godolphin's trainer bin Suroor has put in Dubai Two Thousand and River's Curtain.
With some of these horses also entered in races in Ireland at the weekend and York looming next week plans are uncertain.
Certainly many professionals, though, will be keen to see the wraps taken off River's Curtain.
The son of Theatrical, a fourlength winner at Saint-Cloud last October when trained by Andre Fabre has been whispered for some time as possibly Godolphin's main Derby hope.
He was fourth with Dubai Two Thousand fifth in the Nad Al Sheba private trial race won by Fath.
Dubai Two Thousand, a son of the 1989 Derby winner Nashwan, has a similar profile to River's Curtain, having won a four-runner minor event at Longchamp last October when in the care of David Loder. Luca Cumani appears to favour the Lingfield race for his main Derby horses, so it may be significant that he has entered Trumpet Sound.
The trainer's Kahyasi and High-Rise won this 11/2-mile contest before triumphing at Epsom and last year Daliapour was runner-up at Lingfield before filling the same spot in the Derby.
Cumani had initially indicated that Trumpet Sound would either tackle the Glasgow Stakes at York or Goodwood's Predominate Stakes after the colt's victory at Brighton last week.
Sakhee, trained by John Dunlop, underlined his credentials when landing the Thresher Classic Trial at the end of last month at Sandown Park.
He is set to reappear either in the Dante Stakes at York or Goodwood's Predominate Stakes.
The Listed Victor Chandler Oaks Trial on the same card has attracted 10 fillies including the unbeaten daughter of Sadler's Wells Chiang Mai, trained by O'Brien.
Classic Betting Derby: (William Hill): 5-1 Beat Hollow, Kings Best, 12-1 Bien Entendu, 14-1 Aristotle, 16-1 Barathea Guest, Giant's Causeway, River's Curtain, 20-1 Dubai Two Thousand, Jaydoom, Sandmason, Wellbeing, 25-1 bar.
Oaks: (William Hill): 4-1 Petrushka, 8-1 Teggiano, 10-1 Love Divine, Melikah, 12-1 Embraced, 16-1 High Walden, Kalypso Katie, 20-1 Clog Dance, Interlude, Lady Of Chad, 25-1 bar.
