A review of the rest of the action on Betfred Derby day at Epsom including the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
Spiritual makes all in Princess Elizabeth
Spiritual made all of the running to land the Group 3 Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on Derby day for John & Thady Gosden.
Rab Havlin made a beeline for the front on board the daughter of Invincible Spirit and she didn't see another rival as she swept clear for a four-and-three-quarter length success.
Karl Burke's Bright Thunder emerged from the chasing pack for second with Sparks Fly third.
With no rain falling on the track before racing the ground was described as 'Good' for the opener.
John Gosden said: “She loved it in front, got a bit of space around her and relaxed and had plenty of confidence. It’s lovely to win a Group 3 like that in style. They gave it to her easy up front as they say. She’s a good filly, but she’s the kind to worry about the others.
“Now we’ve won a Group Three we’ll try to win a Group Two. There’s one in we’ve got our eye on, but we were hoping to run well today, not to win like that.
“It’s lovely for George Strawbridge, he can’t be here today, but I should think he’ll be thrilled to win on Derby Day.”
Rab Havlin added: “She obviously had the run of the race, but the run at Lingfield had taken the freshness out of her and I was surprised at how well she settled in front. She normally makes the running but it’s not by design a lot of the time. Today there was a lot to look at and she just took her foot off the gas and gave herself a chance.”
Asked his opinion on the ground, Havlin said: “Good to soft ground. I think a good shower of rain and it will quite quickly turn to Soft.”
Karl Burke, trainer of the runner-up Bright Thunder, said: “I’m delighted. She’s run a great race and I’m very, very happy with her. She loves the ground - we probably could have done with it being a bit softer - but I think that was probably a career best for her. I’m very happy with her.”
David Loughnane, trainer of the third Sparks Fly, said: “She ran a blinder, she just didn’t get out in time.
“She’s handled the ground fine and that’s the first time she’s gone and got black type with good in the going description, I’m thrilled with the run.
“It was a real blinder and it opens up a few more options for her now. I’ve always thought she was a Group Three horse and she’s proved it there.
“I thought she was the best horse in the race, but just got held up and didn’t get there in time.”
Jungle is massive in the Dash
John & Sean Quinn are no strangers to Epsom success and they landed the Aston Martin "Dash" Handicap with Jm Jungle (7/1).
Quinn won at the Derby meeting with Mr Wagyu who was a regular here a few years ago and Jm Jungle showed his liking for the home of the Derby when beating Spartan Arrow (6/1) by half a length.
The five-year-old has been in great form all season without winning, finishing second at Musselburgh and York amongst a series of good runs, and he showed great pace to win the £50,000 first prize in what has become the traditional pre-cursor to the Derby.
Existent (10/1) was third with Marching Mac (40/1) fourth and Vintage Clarets (7/1) fifth.
John Quinn said: “He deserved that. This year he’s run into a couple of better handicapped horses and run really well, so that’s great. There’s nothing for him at Ascot, but he’ll go back to York in three weeks’ time, then there’s Goodwood. He loves Goodwood, and so do we.”
Jason Hart said: “It was very smooth from my perspective. I got stuck on the wing a little bit, but I rode him in the three-year-old ‘Dash’ a few years ago and I got stuck in behind horses and could never really get him balanced and into a rhythm [that day]. On the wing there, I was able to get into a rhythm and he has toughed it out well. He keeps bumping into American Affair and it’s nice that he wasn’t in there today!
“Fair play to John and Sean, they have a knack with these sprinters of just getting them to keep improving when they get that little bit older. He deserved that as he’s run a load of consistent races and the handicapper hasn’t missed him for being placed, so it’s nice that he’s had his day.”
Hollie Doyle, rider of the runner-up Spartan Arrow, said: “Great run, loves the track and is obviously a bit of a course specialist. Probably wants slightly quicker ground, but he handled it today and I can’t really knock him.”
Stuart Williams, trainer of third-placed Existent, said: “Rose (Dawes) has given him a good ride and steered him through pretty well. No complaints there, and we are very pleased with the run. He’s won nearly £50,000 in prize money this year just from being second and third.”
Impact storms home for Fahey
Stormy Impact (7/1) finished fast and late to steal the Betfred 3YO "Dash" Handicap for Richard Fahey.
The Study Of Man filly was in the rear early on and looked to have plenty on her plate with just a furlong to go as Ruby's Profit led on the stands' rail.
However, she got rolling under Warren Fentiman and made up loads of ground down the centre of the track to get to the lead in the dying embers of the contest.
She won by a length in the end with Lexington Blitz second and Ruby's Profit third.
Winning 17-year-old jockey Warren Fentiman said: “This is my first winner here. I had a great introduction - I rode Extinct for Stuart Williams here over five furlongs and came second, and I’ve been lucky enough to win this, which is brilliant. It’s amazing to ride a winner on Derby Day.”
Fahey said: “At halfway I think we were last, or second-last; they must have run very quick because she’s not slow, and she was struggling to lay up. I did think she could run well here. I was struggling to find a race for her - I had to run her over six at Newmarket and I think five is her trip.
“She’s all speed. I think she will go for the Palace of Holyroodhouse [on the Friday of Royal Ascot over five furlongs].”
Robert Cowell, trainer of runner-up Lexington Blitz, said: “He’s just a nice progressive horse. He really needed his run at York, where he was big and bulky and led for a long way on the wrong side, and that’s definitely stripped him fit. He seemed to enjoy the ground today and he’s loved the fast five. He might go to the Palace of Holyrood House at Royal Ascot, or something like that.”
Jamie Insole, t trainer of third-placed favourite Ruby’s Profit, said: “She probably didn’t handle the track as well as we thought she might and Kieran (Shoemark) said she was always lugging down the camber a bit, and that’s probably cost him a length. She’s run a good race again off second top weight and she’s really progressive. She’s borderline Listed level now and there’ll be a nice race for her.”
Rest of the action
Gary and Josh Moore enjoyed their third winner in 24 hours when Small Fry justified 9/4 favouritism in style in the Encore Lifestyle Northern Dancer Handicap.
He was well ridden by apprentice Ashley Lewis, who had also won on the four-year-old at Chester last month and was also on one of the stable’s winners at Goodwood on Friday evening.
Jamie Moore, representing the family, said: “They are running well and this little horse is doing brilliant. I thought today might be a grade too high.
“Ashley is a good lad. He’s got a lot to learn still but is in the right place for that. I’m very pleased for him. He knew all week that he had to do a light weight, so he’s been watching his weight.
“I’m also made up for Ashley Carr, the owner, who has had horses with us for a long time and is a great er of the yard. It was Leighton Aspell who told me to buy him and he’s been a superstar.”
In the following 10-furlong Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool Lester Piggott Handicap the runners all crossed over to the stands’ side on of heavy rain and softening ground, and it was 9/2 chance War Hawk who got the best of a good finish.
Simon Crisford, who trains the gelding with his son Ed, said: “On Derby Day, having a winner here at Epsom is fantastic. This horse won at Chester last weekend, and we thought he’d come out of the race so well, and watching him build into this race, we thought, ‘We’ve got to go’.
“The race unfolded exactly as we wanted it. It was difficult for him, and because it was difficult for him, he had to wait and bide this time, and when he finished with that kick in the last furlong, it really suited him. On this ground, the fact that he didn’t get the rub of the green from two and a half out probably suited him well.
“This is a highly valued handicap for three-year-olds, but actually I think the top-rated horse was something like 89, so it cut up, and we thought that it was such a valuable race for a horse in his rating that we had to go for it. He is what he is, he is just climbing up the ranks and we don’t have anything planned for him.”
The 2025 Betfred Derby Festival concluded with the £75,000 JRA Tokyo Trophy Handicap over six furlongs, which saw a Northern-trained success courtesy of Sondad (Mick & David Easterby/Joanna Mason.The four-year-old scored in decisive fashion by three-quarters of a length from Twilight Jet.
Winning jockey Mason said: “I wouldn’t take it at face value that he likes that ground, but it’s so wet out there that he just slopped through it. He won so well on good to firm at Newmarket that it was a bit of an unknown, but he’s just come on by leaps and bounds with another year on his back.
“I was panicking slightly wondering if it would open up for him, but I had enough momentum and I’ve ridden him a lot of times. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for him.”
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