Lingfield Derby Trial Preview: Smart Tart the value play

Whilst the Lingfield Derby Trial - which takes place this Saturday at 2.30pm - hasn’t produced a winner of the Derby itself since 1998, when High-Rise emerged victorious, it has been won by some smart performers in recent years, including Frankel's close relation (and pacemaker) Bullet Train, Humphrey Bogart and the subsequent Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Main Sequence. It can also boast a geographical trait that few others can too, in that it closely mirrors Epsom’s tight turns and sweeping bend turning for home.

No Derby Trial would be complete without an Aidan O’Brien contender, and he is responsible for the current favourite, Sir John Lavery. The Galileo colt has made just two career starts to date, both coming in fairly quick succession in October last year, but left a significant impression when winning over a mile at Gowran Park on his final start. He built on his promising third at the Curragh just eight days earlier to win in taking fashion by seven lengths in testing conditions, hinting that he would be the type to do even better in his three-year-old season.  The fact that Sir John Lavery is as short as 16/1 for the Derby, the current third choice of the Ballydoyle contenders, suggests that he is well thought of at home, and he looks a strong contender for this contest. However, his odds are prohibitive, and it may be worth taking him on with another likely improver: Tartini.

A half-brother to St Leger winner Lucarno, Tartini looked something out of the ordinary when winning a mile maiden at Nottingham in October on his only start as a two-year-old. John Gosden’s colt looks open to considerable improvement at three, and whilst he was unable to build on that in the Epsom trial on his reappearance, he lost nothing in defeat that day, being spared a hard ride once beaten in a muddling contest. Whilst Tartini isn’t currently entered in the Derby, he looks an ideal candidate for the St Leger later in the season, and given that he’s likely to come on considerably for that run at Epsom, his price of 9/2 offers some value with Frankie Dettori booked to ride. 

Best Solution is by far the most experienced colt in the field, with eight career starts to date, and showed himself to be a two-year-old to follow last term, winning the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket, before finding the Criterium de Saint-Cloud a little too hot on his final start in late October. The form of that win at Newmarket looks strong in the context of this race, though Best Solution benefitted from a shrewd ride that day, and others in the field could well improve past him in this. Another with plenty of experience at two is Fraankus, who won a listed contest at Haydock in September and a Group 3 at Chantilly the following month, before finishing behind Best Solution at Saint-Cloud. He returned in the Classic Trial, and appeared to be exposed as just useful in finishing third there, and would need to improve to take this.

Others worth considering are Zamfir and Sofia’s Rock, both of whom won at Leicester on their most recent starts. Sofia’s Rock is another with plenty of experience under his belt, and he very much improved through his two-year-old season, putting in a likeable effort to break his maiden tag at Redcar at the fourth attempt, before following up on a promising reappearance at Bath by staying on strongly to score on his most recent start. He warrants consideration, as does Zamfir, who, like Best Solution, is another Godolphin-owned runner. He is something of a late bloomer, making his debut just last month, and should come into calculations on the back of that run, overcoming experience to make a winning start, though he might find this a little too hot on just his second start.

In summary, this looks a hotter race than usual for the Lingfield Derby Trial, and whilst Sir John Lavery looks the strongest candidate, he is a short price for this, and the value could lie with 9/2 chance Tartini. He is open to plenty of improvement and should build considerably on his reappearance at Epsom.

Recommended bet:

Back Tartini in the Lingfield Derby Trial at 9/2