Horse racing-Small-scale breeder aims for success in 19-strong Derby field

By Virginia Furness

EPSOM, England (Reuters) - A small-time breeder with just four mares to her name will take on industry titans with her homebred Pride Of Arras in Saturday's 19-strong Epsom Derby line-up.

Run over a mile and a half, the race is the most important test of stamina and speed for a generation of three-year-old thoroughbreds.

Now in its 246th edition, the unique horseshoe-shaped track can make or break the fortune of the sport's future breeding stars. 

Pride Of Arras comes into the race off the back of a spectacular win in the Dante Stakes at York for owner-breeders Lavinia and David Aykroyd, who are hoping for their first winner in the British Classic, seen as the pinnacle of the British Flat Racing season. 

A win would also mark a first success in the race for Ralph Beckett, who also trains 16-1 shot Stanhope Gardens, and sought-after jockey Rossa Ryan who rode Pride Of Arras to victory in both of his previous starts. 

"When he won as a two-year-old we knew he had a lot of potential but we didn't know how much until he won the Dante,"  Lavinia Akyroyd told Reuters. "I'm obviously very thrilled and looking forward to the Derby.

"A lot of good horses finished behind him in the Dante. I hope we can beat them again but we're up against Ballydoyle and Godolphin (stables). I'm a little Yorkshire lady trying to beat the big boys."

The Derby has been dominated in recent years by trainer Aidan O'Brien who, after completing a near sweep of trial races, sends out three including Delacroix, Lambourn and the previous ante-post favourite The Lion In Winter, who finished sixth to Pride Of Arras at York.

O'Brien told punters not to rule out The Lion In Winter after the disappointing run.

"He was a bit behind fitness-wise at York and was very fresh but everything has gone well since," he said.

Delacroix, the pick of four-time Derby winning jockey Ryan Moore, goes into the race favourite having displaced The Lion In Winter as Ballydoyle's first string after two wins this year, most recently in the Cashel Derby trial at Leopardstown.

O'Brien and Moore are vying for a third straight win after Auguste Rodin in 2023 and City of Troy in 2024.

A win would extend O'Brien's record as the race's most successful trainer to 11.

"The Derby and Oaks are vital to us," O'Brien said. "They are the most important races for colts and fillies of the year and for the thoroughbred three-year-old generation."

Ruling Court, the 2,000 Guineas winner trained by Charlie Appleby and owned by Godolphin, is attempting to become the first horse since 2012 to compete a rare Guineas-Derby double.

A win would put him on track for the elusive Triple Crown, which this year comes with a 2 million pound ($2.71 million) bonus if he is victorious in September's St Leger.

This year's race is run in memory of the late Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the world's 15 million Ismaili Muslims whose name became synonymous with success as a racehorse owner and breeder.

A late entry from his stable was supplemented on Monday at a cost of 75,000 pounds.

Connections will be hoping the French-trained Midak can emulate the great Shergar, who won in the Aga Khan's green and red silks in 1981, and land a second Derby success for jockey Mickael Barzalona who triumphed as a teenager in 2011.

Also fancied is Damysus, the mount of James Doyle, who is expected to benefit from running over a longer distance than before.

($1 = 0.7383 pounds)

(Reporting by Virginia Furness; Editing by Christian Radnedge)