England: Thomasgainsborough tops Investec Derby Trial at Epsom

Thomasgainsborough, a well-regarded Dansili colt trained by Aidan O’Brien, makes his stakes debut in Wednesday’s Investec Derby Trial at Epsom, a race that offers an automatic berth to the winner for the Epsom Derby on June 2.

Thomasgainsborough will be ridden by O’Brien’s son Joseph in the race over about 1 1/4 miles. The Epsom Derby is run over 1 1/2 miles.

Thomasgainsborough was third in a minor handicap on the all-weather surface at Dundalk, Ireland, on April 11, his only start this year.

In the Investec Derby Trial, worth approximately $80,000, Thomasgainsborough faces five rivals, including Mister Music, a Singspiel colt who was second in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket on April 18; and Cameron Highland, a Galileo colt who won a maiden race at Redcard, England, in his second career start on April 9.

◗ In France on Monday, Hard Dream, a colt by Oasis Dream, won his third consecutive race in the Group 3 Prix Noailles at Longchamp, a prep for the French Derby.

Ridden by Stephane Pasquier for trainer Francois Rohaut, Hard Dream, a 9-2 chance, won the race over 1 5/16 miles by 1 1/2 lengths over Tifongo in the field of six. Hard Dream won twice at provincial tracks in France before Monday’s race.