Epsom: Golden Horn tries to stay perfect in English Derby

Golden Horn, unbeaten in three career starts, was supplemented to Saturday’s $2,204,058 English Derby this week for $115,275 by owner Anthony Oppenheimer.

The steep fee might be more of an investment than a gamble.

Trained by John Gosden, Golden Horn won his group stakes debut in the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York last month, moving to the fore of the division. He was the 3-2 favorite with British bookmakers as of Thursday for the Group 1 English Derby. The race is run at 1 1/2 miles on turf with a stern uphill finish at Epsom Downs, south of London.

Frankie Dettori will ride Golden Horn, who is by Cape Cross. Golden Horn won a maiden race at Nottingham Racecourse last October and the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket in April.

Gosden has a strong team for the English Derby, which drew a field of 12. He trains Jack Hobbs, who was second in the Dante in his stakes debut. Jack Hobbs was the 9-2 second choice on Thursday, followed in the betting by Giovani Canaletto and Elm Park, both 7-1.

Giovani Canaletto is one of three runners in the field trained by Aidan O’Brien, along with the longshots Hans Holbein and Kilimanjaro. Giovani Canaletto was second in the Group 3 Gallinule Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at The Curragh in Ireland on May 24 in his first start of the year.

Elm Park, trained by Andrew Balding, was third in the Dante.

The field does not include the undefeated Zawraq, a stakes winner in Ireland in April who has battled soundness issues this week, trainer Dermot Weld told the British press.

◗ Dolniya and Flintshire, the first two finishers of the $6 million Sheema Classic in Dubai on March 28, run on turf for the first time this year in Europe in the $576,375 Coronation Cup at Epsom, an hour before the English Derby.

This will be the third meeting this year between Dolniya, a 4-year-old filly, and Flintshire, a 5-year-old horse. Dolniya and Flintshire were first and second, separated by about a head, in an allowance race on the synthetic surface at Chantilly, France, on March 3 in their first starts of the year.

The Group 1 Coronation Cup is run at 1 1/2 miles and drew a field of six. Dolniya, trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre, was the 5-6 favorite with British bookmakers as of Thursday.