English King an uneasy pick to wear Derby crown

At a glance, English King looks like a pretender to the throne of English Derby favorite. A seventh at Newmarket, a win at Newcastle, another in a listed race at Lingfield: That’s the résumé of the horse favored to win the Derby on Saturday at Epsom.

Yes, 2020 has been a year like none other, so why not a Derby favorite who never has run in a group race and whose trainer, Ed Walker, has his first Derby starter.

“I’ve never trained a runner in the Derby, so I’m not necessarily sure what it should look like,” Walker, a former assistant to Luca Cumani, said in a recent interview.

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But watch English King’s two wins and you can better understand the buzz, which only increased when Frankie Dettori took the mount.

English King, by Camelot and out of the Zafonic mare Platonic, came from the back of a 12-horse field going 1 1/4 miles at Newcastle last November, diving to the inside of favored Waleydd, a capable colt, after being deprived an outside run and pulling away late to an eye-catching 1 1/2-length win.

In the Derby Trial on June 5 at Lingfield, English King looked even more impressive. Going left-handed around a couple turns and over considerable undulations – a decent likeness of Epsom’s unusual course – English King crept from the tail of the field into a contending position during the middle stages while exerting little energy in this 11 1/2-furlong contest.

Two furlongs out, he took aim at the leader, Berskhire Rocco, and while never really asked for run, overhauled him and pulled away under a hands-and-heels ride to win by nearly three lengths. Berkshire Rocco came back June 19 to finish second in Group 2 Queen’s Vase at Ascot to Santiago, who then won the Irish Derby.

English King is drawn on the rail, right next to Mogul, one of six Aidan O’Brien-trained entrants and the mount of top stable jockey Ryan Moore. Mogul came into the season a leading Derby hope but could only finish fourth as the heavy favorite in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot. Mogul clearly carried excess weight into the King Edward and should be much closer to real race fitness.

Pyledriver won the King Edward as an 18-1 shot but was trading at roughly the same price for the Derby in antepost wagering Thursday. At a much shorter price, and challenging English King for favoritism, was Kameko, riding a two-race Group 1 winning streak in the Vertem Futurity Trophy last fall and the English 2000 Guineas on June 7. Kameko, Oisin Murphy riding for trainer Andrew Balding, is by Kitten’s Joy and out of Sweeter Still, by Rock of Gibraltar. The potential knock on this talented colt is his stamina.

Two more for O’Brien – Hampton Court Stakes winner Russian Emperor and Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Vatican City – were priced at single-digit odds Thursday, when the Epsom course was rated “good.” The ground won’t be better than that raceday and could soften from Friday night and Saturday rain.

Post time for the Derby is 11:45 a.m. Eastern. Fans and bettors can watch and wager at DRFBets.com.