Racing blog ahead of York, Chester, Sandown and Chantilly

Alex Hammond reflects on the Derby Festival before looking ahead to some of the highlights to come this weekend, including the Prix de Diane.

Lambourn made all to beat two outsiders in the Derby – can he become the 12-furlong star this division so badly needs?

There were several horses that didn’t handle the track on that ground, and we will likely see better from them in the future. Pride Of Arras was my main fancy, and he falls into that category.

So, will Lambourn dominate the middle distance division in the future? it’s hard to say because he was given a super ride by Wayne Lordan and he handled the conditions on the day. Lambourn is now 4/5 favourite with Sky Bet to win the Irish Derby, with Pride Of Arras 10/1. I’d hope we see a better effort from the latter at the Curragh.

I’m not convinced Lambourn will become the star because the Derby went his way on the day and it might be a tighter division than it appears.

As for the middle-distance division in generan, if we include the older horses then they all may struggle to beat Jan Brueghel when they lock horns. More on him in a moment.

What did you make of Minnie Hauk and Whirl’s tussle in the Oaks and where do you see their futures lying?

Both the Oaks and Derby winners came from Chester’s May festival, which is fabulous for that track, and it shows that the tight turns of the Roodee helps to educate potential Epsom contenders.

Having said, that Minnie Hauk hung towards the rail before narrowly beating her stablemate Whirl. I’d imagine that Whirl could turn the form around should they meet in the future, and she may end up being the better filly, she’s certainly the quicker filly so may prove more effective over a mile and a quarter.

For that reason, I’d have Whirl over Minnie Hauk should they meet in the Pretty Polly at the end of this month.

How do you reflect on Jan Brueghel fending off Calandagan in the Coronation Cup, and what now for the latter?

Jan Breughel is one tough old so-and-so. He’s a fine advert for the resilience provided by his sire Galileo and he thrives on rolling up his sleeves and having a battle.

It sounds like Calandagan will head to the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at the end of this month, which could give him that first elusive Group 1 win, although as a gelding that’s less important for the breed going forward.

Give us an Epsom eyecatcher who went into the Hammond notebook last week.

Well, the aforementioned Whirl is one of them. I tipped up Lazy Griff as an each-way selection in last week’s blog for the Derby and he ran a blinder to finish second. When I saw him at Chester where he finished second to subsequent Derby winner Lambourn, he looked a classy individual and his performances on the track are reflecting that.

Charlie Johnston and Middleham Park Racing will have some fun times with this lad who can take them to many big days.

Derby fourth New Ground is another to watch out for. Trained in France by Henri-Francois Devin. he holds entries in the Grand Prix de Paris and the Arc. This was just his fifth start and it was a step up – there are some nice races to be won with him.

Do you have an early fancy for Chester, York, Sandown or elsewhere this weekend?

Well, I’m writing this in midweek, so we are a little way off knowing how the final fields are going to stack up. If Theoryofeverything runs in Sandown’s mile handicap at 2.05 then I’d want to have him on side. This will be his second start since having a wind operation and he ran well on his first start back at Haydock a few weeks ago.

Tuco Salamanca is another horse I’ve got my eye on, and he holds a couple of entries at York on Saturday. He deserves a change of luck, and I’ll stick with him until he proves otherwise.

On Sunday, the Prix de Diane takes place at Chantilly and Shes Perfect is looking for compensation for her connections after being demoted from first place in the French 1000 Guineas.

Published at 0918 BST on 11/06/25

Racing blog ahead of York, Chester, Sandown and Chantilly

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