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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer Charlie Appleby is optimistic that the slower ground at Epsom on 1st June will work in favor of his Gr.1 Epsom Derby contender, Ancient Wisdom.
On 29th May, Ancient Wisdom was just half a point off being the favorite for this renowned classic race. Appleby's "live contender" has been backed at 7-2 with Unibet, trailing behind Ballydoyle stablemates City of Troy and Los Angeles at 3-1.
Ancient Wisdom's successful juvenile campaign included victories at Haydock and Newmarket, as well as a third-place finish behind Gr.1 Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Rosallion at Ascot in July. After a break, Ancient Wisdom triumphed in the Gr.3 Autumn Stakes on soft ground at Newmarket in October, followed by a win on heavy ground in the Gr.1 Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster.
Subsequently, Ancient Wisdom was the 7-4 favorite for his seasonal return in the Gr.2 Dante Stakes at York but was outperformed by the William Haggas-trained Economics, who will not be competing in the Derby.
"Ancient Wisdom is a Group One winner having won the Futurity at Doncaster in very soft conditions," said Appleby, who is bidding for his third Derby after scoring with Masar (2018) and Adayar (2021). "I was happy with his reappearance in the Dante. There was a good winner there but I felt there was going to be plenty of improvement from Ancient Wisdom and he has shown all the right signs since.
"We know he relishes the slower ground and with the forecast being the way it is, we'll hopefully encounter that on Saturday, which should enhance his chances. (Jockey) William (Buick) sat on him on Wednesday and the whole team are delighted with how he's progressed since his first 3YO start. It's an honor to be involved in a race like the Derby and we believe we're going there with a live contender."
The Epsom ground conditions were described as soft, with some areas being good to soft on Wednesday. Ancient Wisdom, previously priced at 7-1 earlier in the week, has garnered increased support. City of Troy, trained by Aidan O'Brien, has seen a drift in betting and is now a 3-1 joint favorite with several bookmakers, alongside stablemate Los Angeles.
"I moved the description back from soft to soft, good to soft in places on Wednesday morning," said Epsom's clerk of the course Andrew Cooper. "As expected, we've been dry all day so far and it's expected to stay dry for the remainder of today. There's been an improving picture in the last 24 hours but we'll see what tomorrow brings.
"It still looks as though there's a greater risk of showers on Thursday from reasonably early in the morning. Most forecasters are pitching the volume for the day at somewhere around 5 millimeters—they think we'll be doing very well to miss the rain completely.
"If we saw 5 millimeters, the ground will go backward in the short term but it's not a dramatic volume, and I still think we'd be more in the good-to-soft territory on Friday.
"We're going to have to see something at the upper-end tomorrow to stay meaningfully soft. Looking at the outlook, I think it will be a touch better on Saturday. It will be nice racing ground but it might be on the slower side to some degree."