Frankie Dettori will have the chance to secure a third victory in the Investec Derby next month after being booked to ride current favourite English King in the Blue Riband.
English King announced his Derby credentials earlier this month when an impressive winner of the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial for trainer Ed Walker and owner Bjorn Nielsen. The three-year-old was partnered that day by young jockey Tom Marquand.
Speaking about the decision to secure Dettori’s services for the Group 1, Walker told the Racing Post: “Tom is a huge talent and a very promising young jockey who, I’ve got no doubt, will be competing at the highest level for a long time.
“But at this stage he’s not quite at the level that Frankie is, especially when it comes to the big day. Frankie has experience, knowledge and understanding of these races like nobody else.
“I told Tom after Lingfield that ‘Frankie is your only threat’ and what odds would you have that Frankie wouldn’t have a ride for John Gosden in the Derby? It’s a real tough one for Tom but he’s taken it like I expected for a young man with his intelligence.
“He understands and he’ll continue to ride a lot for us in the future, and maybe on this horse again in the future.”
Emmet Mullins banned from Irish racecourses for three months
Irish trainer Emmet Mullins has been banned by the Irish Horse Racing Regulatory Board (IRHB) from attending a racecourse and fined €5,000 for breaching coronavirus protocols at Leopardstown this month.
Mullins was refused entry to the track after he did not have the correct barcode that would have given him access to the track to saddle Oriental Eagle in the Listed Saval Beg Stakes.
He was told by the health-screening station that he wasn’t able to enter but the trainer proceeded to get into the track before being spotted by an IRHB security official.
Mullins will not appeal the decision and has requested for his fine to be donated to health workers fighting the coronavirus in Ireland.
Bookies donate £250,000 to coronavirus and cancer charities
Despite making a loss on the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot last week, bookmakers will donate £250,000 to Covid-19 and cancer charities.
A number of Betting & Gaming Council (BGC) members, including the likes of Paddy Power, Betfair, bet365, Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill had announced that they would donate profits from win and each-way bets, after the deduction of levy and duties, on the Britannia to charity.
But Khaloosy’s victory meant that the bookmakers did not have a good result and ended up posting a loss on the race that formed part of Thursday’s card at Ascot.
The BGC’s Chief Executive Michael Dugher said: “It was a great day for punters, though not such a good one for the bookies.
“However, it’s brilliant to see that despite bookmakers not making a profit in the race, they will still make a large donation of a quarter of a million pounds to four fantastic charities, who undoubtedly deserve every penny.
“I’d like to thank those BGC members for this wonderful gesture.”
