2017 Derby at Epsom Betting Preview PT 1

There is a lot to like about this year’s iteration of the Epsom Derby with the withdrawal of Guineas winner Churchill from the mix with connections just not confident that he’s going to be able to handle the distance and the competition with such a short turnaround time.

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The betting really looks like it’s locked down between the likes of Cliffs of Moher and the talented Cracksman who both can be backed in the range of about 7/2 or 4/1 with the majority of books seeming to price Cliffs of Moher just a bit shorter than his counterpart.

Aiden O’Brien, unsurprisingly, saddles the vaunted favourite here with a seasonal debut coming at Chester when he captured the Homeserve Dee Stakes by a length and a half over Bay Of Poets in the 1m2.5f contest. Ryan Moore was up that day and he was able to get the support of the punters - and delivered at a satisfying price of around ⅘.

His maiden score came at Leopardstown when he won by a full five and a half length margin over a field of 17 contenders when sent off at a 7/2 margin. Prior to that he had only been able to muster up a fifth place finish in a maiden effort at the Curragh two weeks before.

Cracksman is trained by John Gosden and comes into the race after having taken the wise option of scoring in a Class 2 prep at Epsom going a 1m2f distance and that should stand him in good stead for this race with the ability to navigate the tricky areas of the course have no question marks hanging over him here.