Ed has enjoyed some magical days with the likes of Ouija Board and Snow Fairy, but the Derby is the race that stands head and shoulders above everything else in the world of Flat racing, so should the dream become reality and NATIVE KHAN wins the Ivestec-sponsored classic at Epsom tomorrow, don't expect the boss to come down from the clouds until Royal Ascot!
Assessing our chance, Ed said:"Native Khan could not be any better. His final gallop on the Al Bahathri on Wednesday was his best yet, so he has peaked just at the right time. There is no rain forecast, so we are going to get our ground, and he has definitely improved and grown up since he finished third in the Guineas."
"Obviously, the $64,000 question is 'will he stay' but we won't find out until Johnny (Murtagh) pulls the trigger. We have always felt that Native Khan was more a stayer than a miler and we are confident that he will get a mile and a quarter. After that we don't know, but his preparation has gone very smoothly, so there will be no excuses if he is beaten. We could have gone to France on Sunday for the Prix du Jockey-Club (2100 metres), but there is only one Derby and it is at Epsom."
We also run TANFEETH in the opener at Epsom, and the boss added:"He won his maiden easily at Sandown, having shown plenty of promise at Chester, and, though the runner-up (Almagest) was a beaten favourite back at Sandown on Thursday, we like ours. It's his first handicap and he is not thrown in off 88, but it's a £40,000 race so we expected it to be tough."