Cracksman could be a real challenger

A FLAT jockey can’t wish for anything more than a live chance in the Investec Derby and, buoyed by my fourth win in yesterday’s Oaks on Enable, that’s what I’ve got this afternoon with Cracksman.

Enable’s win could kick start a massive three days for me. After Cracksman this afternoon, who, like Enable, is trained by John Gosden, I’m in France tomorrow to ride Rivet, a colt part-owned by Lester Piggott, in the French Derby.

Enable’s win isn’t going to make Cracksman run any faster but my confidence has been given a boost. It’s one of the most open Derbys many can remember and there will probably be 10 or 11 jockeys in the weighing room who believe that they can win.

I’ve won the race twice before. I’d love to win it three times and match the achievement of the late jockey Pat Eddery, one of my greatest heroes.

Cracksman carries the black and white colours of owner Sir Anthony Oppenheimer, the same owner of Golden Horn.

I’m not going to lie. As a team we are not arriving at Derby Day with the same confident vibe. Golden Horn was already a champion when he ran. He had won the Dante Stakes by nearly three lengths and beaten Group One winners. We knew he was top drawer.

But in a line-up where most of the field have a capacity to step up significantly on their previous performances, you can say that about Cracksman probably more than any other horse. He’s quite relaxed for a son of Frankel and has won both his races. The last one, the Investec Derby Trial at Epsom in April, looks good form now.

We had some trouble in running but just managed to peg back Permian, who subsequently won York’s Dante Stakes. I feel Cracksman finished so well that he would have beaten Permian more easily with extra furlongs to run.

There is no stand-out horse in the race. But I’ve seen some Derbys where there have been horses high in the betting who have had dubious credentials on the stamina front.

While Saeed Bin Suroor’s Dante Stakes runner-up Benbatl might find a mile-and-ahalf a bit far, every other runner in this afternoon’s field should stay the course.

If you press me as to what are the biggest dangers to Cracksman, I was impressed with Aidan O’Brien’s Venice Beach when he won the Chester Vase, while Eminent, who was sixth in the 2,000 Guineas over a mile, is another player.