Our ‘Horses to Follow 2024’ series is back with Dave Massey braving the battling conditions at Epsom last weekend to give the best nags that caught his wandering eye in the paddock at The Epsom Derby Festival 2024.
Horses to Follow 2024: Fantastic Fox (Roger Varian) ran Friday, 1m Handicap
Putting up Fantastic Fox as an Eyecatcher ought to come with some form of wealth warning on the side of the packet, as he’s not won on turf for some time (getting on for three years, if you’re being picky) but it’s not as if he doesn’t know how to win, having done so three times on the all-weather in the last twelve months, and surely one of these days it’s going to drop right for him, and he’s going to win at a decent price.
In a race that he ran well in last year, Fantastic Fox has probably done well to get as close as he did here, finishing a 3½ lengths fifth and doing all of his best work late. The first four home were drawn 4-5-3-2, so it paid to be among the low numbers, so from stall 11 you can mark the Fox’s effort up a touch.
It’s of some interest to me they tried him in a big field at Ascot over 7f the time before. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he found that trip on the short side, at one point looking like he’d finish nearer last than first, but he ran on strongly inside the final furlong for eighth, beaten two lengths. Is the Royal Hunt Cup on their minds, maybe?
Horses to Follow 2024: The X O (John Ryan) ran Friday, 7f Handicap
Poor old The X O. Not only did he get little credit for splitting Cold Case and Bradsell in the Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot last year (and that worked out pretty well, huh?) but the handicapper gave him a 10lb whacking for it, taking his mark to 104 at the time. That basically ruled him out of winning one for the rest of the season but to his credit he ran a cracker off 100 at Lingfield on the all-weather this spring, beaten under two lengths after making a huge move widest of all on the bend.
The handicapper has started to relent now, and from a mark of 95, he ran his best race on turf since that Ascot effort last year, finishing third to Rhoscolyn after finding 7f just a bit too far for him here. He led at the furlong pole but was just run out of it late, looking like a drop back to a strongly-run 6f wouldn’t do him any harm.
He’s only had the four starts on turf and although he’s yet to win one, he’s been given some very stiff tasks. There’s a good 6f handicap to be won with him this summer, of that I’m sure, but he hasn’t an entry in the Wokingham, which seems a shame.
Horses to Follow 2024: Macduff (Ralph Beckett) ran Saturday, Betfred Derby
Seems a bit silly to be putting one up as an Eyecatcher that was beaten so far in the Derby as in truth, he didn’t catch anything on the day. However, there’s probably a good reason he ran as moderately as he did at Epsom, and that’s Epsom itself.
A couple of weeks ago at the not-the-Breakfast-With-The-Stars morning where a few horses galloped around Tattenham Corner, my wonderful paddock work-partner was in attendance and the first message I got was, simply “Macduff…fell off Tattenham Corner….all over the place.” So given that, it was hardly the biggest shock when he pretty much repeated the trick in the race itself, not looking at all happy either around Tattenham Corner or down the camber afterwards.
Essentially what I’m saying is, stick a line through this effort, as he was progressive before it, and back on a more conventional track, could easily bounce back. Entries in the Irish Derby and King Edward VII, and he’ll be a decent price for either after the Epsom effort.
Horses to Follow 2024: Atherstone Warrior (Alice Haynes) ran Friday, Woodcote Stakes
Another that came back with a very negative paddock report was Atherstone Warrior, who was very tense pre-race – at one point they couldn’t even get him to walk properly – and he used a lot of nervous energy up before he’d even got to the start. That didn’t stop him from tanking his way through the race, that after using up some petrol up to get across from a wide draw in the process. To be beaten just three lengths rates a decent effort, all in all, and if they can start to get him to settle better beforehand you’d like to think he can take another step forward. He seems to enjoy some cut as well, so one to bear in mind for the autumn if it doesn’t rain any time soon.
By Dave Massey
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