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1.30pm Surrey Stakes
And they’re off … Formal has been well backed late on … and that horse is prominent … but The Waco Kid just has the lead … tey are going down the middle of the track. …
Updated at 08.32 EDT
1.30pm Surrey Stakes betting
Racegoers arriving at Epsom. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesShare
Greg Wood
1.30pm Surrey Stakes preview
Several of these three-year-olds have plenty of form in the book already for this relatively early stage of their careers, including likely favourite Diego Ventura, the winner of a Listed race at Longchamp last time. He has a 3lb penalty as a result, though, and could be vulnerable to a less exposed opponent. Formal and SAQQARA SANDS both fit the bill and Ralph Beckett’s filly in particular looks likely to make significant progress this term.
SELECTION: SAQQARA SANDS
Georgia Toffolo is at the races. If you don’t know she was “made” in Made in Chesea. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PAShare
2.40pm Coronation Cup preview
There are few more obvious Group One winners-in-waiting than Francis-Henri Graffard’s gelding CALANDAGAN, who scooted away with the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer by six lengths and has finished runner-up at the highest level on his next three starts. Things have simply not panned out for him in his two most recent outings – he had traffic problems in the Champion Stakes in October and was too far off a steady pace in the Sheema Classic at Meydan in March – and prior to that, simply came up against a very strong and superbly-ridden opponent in City Of Troy, in the International Stakes at York. Some punters may look for an alternative on the basis that finding one too good is starting to become a habit, and Giavellotto, who was five lengths adrift of Calandagan in the Sheema Classic, has a squeak on his Group One-winning form in Hong Kong in December, while Jan Brueghel, last year’s St Leger winner, also has claims as he steps back up in trip after surrendering his unbeaten record over 10 furlongs last time.
SELECTION: CALANDAGAN
Hello Ducky! Photograph: John Walton/PAShareGreg Wood
2.05pm Woodcote Stakes preview
Five of the nine remaining runners – after the scratching of Too Darn Good – were winners last time out, including the current 6-4 favourite, Maximized, who was knocked down to Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin for £720k at a breeze-up sale – where horses gallop before going under the hammer – earlier this year. He repaid a small part of that outlay with a debut win at Haydock in May, but did not achieve anything more on the bare form than the second-favourite, HAVANA HURRICANE, who was picked up for a much more reasonable 9k gns (£9.5k) and showed a decent turn of foot to win at Goodwood first time up. Eve Johnson Houghton, his trainer, took this race with a very similar type in Bobsleigh two years ago and he is an interesting option to the favourite at around 11-4.
SELECTION: HAVANA HURRICANE
They’re just showing off. Photograph: John Walton/PAShare
Updated at 07.20 EDT
Greg Wood
1.30pm Surrey Stakes preview
Several of these three-year-olds have plenty of form in the book already for this relatively early stage of their careers, including likely favourite Diego Ventura, the winner of a Listed race at Longchamp last time. He has a 3lb penalty as a result, though, and could be vulnerable to a less exposed opponent. Formal and SAQQARA SANDS both fit the bill and Ralph Beckett’s filly in particular looks likely to make significant progress this term.
SELECTION: SAQQARA SANDS
She’s started early. Photograph: Victoria Jones/ShutterstockShare
Harry Redknapp owns a horse or two and he’s made his way to the Downs.
Harry Redknapp arrives at Epsom. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PAShare
The celebs are arriving at Epsom … and here are Gabby and Kenny Logan
Nice shades. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PAShare
Updated at 07.16 EDT
We will be getting Greg Wood’s race-by-race guide throughout the morning but here’s a rundown of the action you will be able to see from Epsom this afternoon:
1.30pm Nyetimber Listed Surrey Stakes, 7f, 3yo
2.05pm Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes, 6f, 2yo
2.40pm Betfred (Group One) Coronation Cup, 1m4f, 4yo+
3.15pm Betfred Nifty 50 Handicap, 1m2f, 4yo+
4.00pm Betfred (Group One) Oaks, 1m4f, 3yo fillies
4.35pm Trustatrader Handicap, 1m½f, 4yo+
It’s going to get hot in those costumes. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/ReutersShare
Epsom have gone with a little drum and bass in their promotional video for the Derby meeting but for getting down with the kids you can’t beat the UK Garage commentary special released a few years back …
UK Garage “does the races” with a special commentary from Ascot. Share
It’s too darn bad if you fancy the Charles Hills-trained runner in the 2.05pm race today as it won’t be turning up. Here are your non-runners for Epsom this afternoon:
2.05pm Betfred British EBF Woodcote Stakes
8 Too Darn Good
4.35pm Trustatrader Handicap
10 Obelix
She’s arrived early. Photograph: Adam Davy/PAShare
After a spring as dry as most people can remember suddenly this week people were talking about attritional scenes at Epsom and even suggesting the dreaded ‘heavy’ might be in the description for the Derby festival meeting with plenty of rain in some forecasts. There is more precipitation coming overnight and tomorrow so get your macs and brollies at the ready ( whisper it but clerk of the course Andrew Cooper says there is a “real possibility” of a soft-ground Derby on Saturday) but for today the official verdict is in and it’s Good to soft, good in places. After some rain this morning (1mm) it is forecast to clear to a brighter, breezy afternoon with temperatures in the mid to high teens.
“When ground is drying, there comes a point when you lose control of it – and this place dries very quickly.”
Clerk of the course Andrew Cooper explains the decision to irrigate at Epsom on Tuesday and why he feels it was the right thing to do
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 6, 2025
Updated at 06.48 EDT
PreambleGreg Wood
Good morning from Epsom racecourse on this first day of this year’s Derby meeting, where racing professionals and a scattering of early punters alike are staring anxiously at the skies and wondering how the ground will be riding for both Friday’s Oaks and the Derby itself in a little over 24 hours’ time.
There is plenty of blue sky above the track at present but there was rain earlier and it has already been one of the trickier run-ups to the Classic meeting in Andrew Cooper’s 30-year tenure as clerk of the course.
“I’ve never known such a prolonged dry period from March, April and through into May, so it’s been challenging,” Cooper told the draw ceremony in a local cinema on Wednesday. “It hasn’t been great for grass, it’s been constant irrigation just to get us to where we want to be.
“There was 3.5mm of rain on Tuesday, which was forecast, but it’s very localised and Sandown [eight miles away] didn’t get any at all. It’s unsettled for sure, and in terms of the volume of rain on a race day, when you’re racing over the ground, it really doesn’t take a lot to start shifting things quite quickly.”
The Jockey Club’s live update page for Epsom was reporting a total of 4.8mm since midnight at 9.30am today, and 11.4mm over the previous seven days. As a result, the going at Epsom is now good to soft, good in places, having been good all over two days ago, though as yet there is little impact on the Oaks betting, where Desert Flower, the 1,000 Guineas winner, remains a solid favourite at around 6-4 despite the nagging doubts about whether she will see out the 12-furlong trip.
Whirl, one of three runners from the Aidan O’Brien yard, is a drifter this morning, however, out to 6-1 from around 9-2 overnight, while Minnie Hauk, the mount of O’Brien’s No 1, Ryan Moore, is a solid second-favourite at around 5-1.
The main supporting race on the Classic card is the Coronation Cup at 2.40pm, for older horses over the full Derby and Oaks trip, and the very likeable Calandagan, who has finished either first or second on his last eight starts, will be favourite here to get an overdue first Group One win on the board. You can read my full preview of today’s TV races here.
The card is under way at 1.30pm with the Surrey Stakes over seven furlongs, and all the news and results from Oaks day will be here on the blog within seconds as the afternoon’s action unfolds.