Having the afternoon’s feature events so unusually early at Lingfield, while surprising and unsatisfactory, did bring one benefit. It meant there was only a short wait for the afternoon’s best bit of news, namely that Britain has at least one genuine hope to challenge Ballydoyle’s huge Derby cavalry.
In some ways it was like a return to the time when Lingfield’s Classic trials on occasions had to be staged at 12.30pm and 1pm in order to gain a spot in the BBC’s FA Cup Final Grandstand programme. These days the races are broadcast on ITV and the Cup Final is still a week away, so the decision to schedule the two Epsom sighters at 1.28pm and 1.58pm was a little perplexing. That said, if you happened to have anything to do with Maltese Cross, you would have cared not one jot.
Even earlier in the day, at just before 11am, the racecourse speakers had been playing the Tears For Fears hit Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Aidan O’Brien might not rule the world but he definitely dominated the Chester May festival, landing all five of the meeting’s black-type races, three of which were Derby and Oaks trials.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on 9 May 2026inReports
Last updated 18:08, 9 May 2026