In the last 25 renewals of the Vodafone Derby, a narrow majority of the winners have come from stalls in double figures, with 13 winners being drawn 10 or above and 12 being drawn in single figures.
However, more interesting is the fact that seven of the winners in the last 25 years have been drawn in stall 10, something that will please Irish trainer Dermot Weld, whose market leader Casual Conquest has been allocated the lucky stall.
Last year Frankie Dettori and Authorized broke from stall 14 before going on to victory in the Classic. On Saturday, Dettori will be hoping to become the first winner for more than 25 years to break from gate 17, while Ryan Moore will be going for two-in-a-row from 14 with the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Tartan Bearer.
Meanwhile, Johnny Murtagh, the most successful current jockey in the Vodafone Derby, has won from five (Motivator, 2005), nine (High Chaparral, 2002) and 15 (Sinndar, 2000), but this year will be breaking from 11 with King Of Rome. During the same period, stall 11 has failed to produce a winner.
The Jim Bolger-trained New Approach has been drawn in stall three, from where Slip Anchor was the most recent winner back in 1985.
Luca Cumani, successful from stall 14 with High-Rise in 1998 and 13 with Kahyasi in 1988, saddles Curtain Call, who will break from stall six, the winning starting point for Stouteâs North Light in 2004.
Along with stall 14, two winners have also come from stall four (Kris Kin, 2003 and Dr Devious, 1992) and stall nine (High Chaparral, 2002 and Shaamit, 1996) in the last quarter of a century. This year, Paul Coleâs River Proud will jump from four, while Aidan OâBrienâs pacemaker Bashkirov will start from nine.
THE 2008 VODAFONE DERBY
Class 1, Group 1, £1,413,500 Total Prize Fund, 4.00pm, Epsom Downs, Saturday, June 7, 2008. For three-year-olds only, entire colts & fillies, one mile, four furlongs & 10yds. Weights: colts 9st. Entries closed December 6, 2006, (465 entries). First forfeit stage March 4, 2008 (125 remained), £8,000 second entry stage April 8, 2008 (13 second entries), second forfeit stage May 23, 2008 (21 remained), £75,000 supplementary entry stage June 2, 2008 (3 supplementary entries -Casual Conquest, Doctor Fremantle and River Proud). Five/six-day confirmation stage June 2, 2008 (15 remained), final declaration stage 10am, June 5, 2008 (17 runners). Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Wednesday, June 4, 2008. May not include some overseas form.
Form Horse Owner Trainer/Jockey/Draw
1) 1223-4 ALAN DEVONSHIRE Russell Trew Ltd Mark Tompkins/Paul Mulrennan 12
2) 031-41 ALESSANDRO VOLTA Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier Aidan OâBrien IRE/Seamus Heffernan 1
3) 34-53 BASHKIROV Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier Aidan OâBrien IRE/ David McCabe 9
4) 043-120 BOUGUEREAU Andrew Black Peter Chapple-Hyam/Alan Munro 2
5) 1-1 CASUAL CONQUEST (IRE) Moyglare Stud Farms Dermot Weld IRE/Pat Smullen 10
6) 62215-1 CURTAIN CALL (FR) Juliet Cooper and Partners Luca Cumani/Jamie Spencer 6
7) 221-21 DOCTOR FREMANTLE Khalid Abdulla Sir Michael Stoute/Kerrin McEvoy 13
8) 10-2 FROZEN FIRE (GER) Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier Aidan OâBrien IRE/Michael Kinane 15
9) 211-21 KANDAHAR RUN Gestut Ammerland Henry Cecil/Ted Durcan 8
10) 010-52 KING OF ROME (IRE) Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan OâBrien IRE/Johnny Murtagh 11
11) 36(0)-(5)(3)0(3) MAIDSTONE MIXTURE (FR) Fergus Wilson Paul Murphy/Michael OâConnell 7
12) 11111-22 NEW APPROACH (IRE) H R H Princess Haya of Jordan Jim Bolger IRE/Kevin Manning 3
13) 311214-2 RIO DE LA PLATA (USA) Godolphin Saeed bin Suroor/Frankie Dettori 17
14) 12010-43 RIVER PROUD (USA) Lorraine Spencer Paul Cole/Richard Quinn 4
15) 10-1 TAJAAWEED (USA) Hamdan Al Maktoum Sir Michael Stoute/Richard Hills 5
16) 2-11 TARTAN BEARER (IRE) Ballymacoll Stud Sir Michael Stoute/Ryan Moore 14
17) 4-22 WASHINGTON IRVING (IRE) Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor Aidan OâBrien IRE/Colm OâDonoghue 16
17 declared to run
7 Irish-trained
