Principals stand their ground for Epsom Derby

Guessing the eventual line-up for Saturday's Derby (Eng-G1) has been the main

sport in

the build-up to the 229th renewal of the Epsom classic, but now the 17 runners

have been

confirmed, the excitement can finally build. Thankfully, the Irish powerhouse

combination of

Moyglare Stud and Dermot Weld agreed to let CASUAL CONQUEST (Hernando

[Fr]) take his

chance after some wavering, and the unbeaten homebred is one of few in the race

with

impeccable credentials. His debut came over seven furlongs of Leopardstown's

circuit in

September, and when he reappeared there in the May 11 Derrinstown Stud Derby

Trial (Ire-G2), he

showed he had made giant strides with a six-length defeat of WASHINGTON IRVING (Montjeu

[Ire]). He bids to become the third winner of that vital Irish prep to follow up

here since 2000.

"There is only one Epsom Derby, and it's great to be taking part in it with such

a live shot,"

jockey Pat Smullen said of the horse who will break from the "lucky" 10 stall,

which has been

responsible for five winners since 1989. "The horse is in great form and, if he

jumps and travels

in the first couple of furlongs, we'll hopefully have no problems. You have to

respect every horse,

as it's a wide-open race and I'd be very foolish to write off anything."

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's colors were carried to glory by Nashwan in

1989

and Erhaab five years later and will grace TAJAAWEED (Dynaformer), one of a

formidable trio

from the Sir Michael Stoute stable successful four times in the Blue Riband. His

one blip came when off the board in the Racing Post Trophy (Eng-G1) at Doncaster in October, which

is

surprisingly also the case with fellow contenders CURTAIN CALL (Sadler's

Wells), RIVER PROUD (Proud Citizen), FROZEN FIRE (Montjeu [Ire]) and KING OF

ROME (Montjeu [Ire]).

Like all those, Tajaaweed rebounded this term and

showed a telling

turn of acceleration from a poor position to win the Dee S. (Eng-G3) at Chester May 9,

a trial which

Oath and Kris Kin took en route to victory here in recent times. Jockey

Richard Hills is

hoping he can provide him with a belated first Derby win breaking from the five

hole of

Motivator fame three years ago.

"He's a tall horse and there were some

doubts as to how

he would handle Chester, but he did it as well as any horse," he explained. "He

travels well,

which is a big plus at Epsom and, even if he's not handling the ups and downs

and turns, if

he's traveling that will give him every chance. He feels like he'll stay, as he

relaxes and gives

himself every opportunity to, and the thing I really like about him is he is

really progressing

quickly -- he's really on an upward curve."

Khalid Abdullah is looking for a third Derby success after Quest for Fame (GB)

and

Commander in Chief in 1990 and 1993 and has supplemented the Chester Vase

(Eng-G3) scorer DOCTOR FREMANTLE (Sadler's Wells). He bids to become the first winner of

that prep to

double up here since the mighty Shergar in 1981, but experience of

Chester's circuit is

never a negative entering this test.

"He handled Chester very well and, while it

does not

necessarily follow that he will handle Epsom, it is a tight left-handed track

and I think he

should be able to handle the hustle and bustle of the Derby," the

owner-breeder's Racing

Manager Teddy Grimthorpe commented. "We know he will stay -- he is more than

qualified on

both sides of his pedigree -- so we are going there very positive. Although he has

raced mainly

on good or good to firm, he is by Sadler's Wells and they tend to go well with

cut in the

ground, so he may even be better on that sort of going."

Stoute's triumvirate is

brought up by TARTAN BEARER (Spectrum), a full-brother to

Golan (Ire),

who failed to add to his Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) success when only third behind Galileo

(Ire) in

2001. He stepped up off a Leicester maiden win April 26 to beat Frozen Fire by a

head in the Dante S. (Eng-G2) at York last time May 15 and that chief trial has delivered no less

than seven

Derby winners since 1986. The Freemason Lodge pair have drawn 13 and 14

respectively, the

post positions of the 1988 and 1998 heroes Kahyasi and High-Rise (Ire).

There were no surprises Thursday, with connections of Bronze Cannon (Lemon Drop

Kid)

opting to give the gig a miss with Royal Ascot's likely faster conditions in

mind.

Princess Haya

of Jordan's NEW APPROACH (Galileo [Ire]) will exit from stall three after

being ponied to

the start in customary fashion. Trainer Jim Bolger announced earlier this week

that last year's champion juvenile and English and Irish Two Thousand Guineas

(Ire-G1) runner-up would not run

if firm

was in the ground description, and that appeared a possibility Thursday as

Clerk of the

Course and Director of Racing Andrew Cooper brought up the issue of watering.

"The ground

is continuing to dry out, and I have changed the going description to good from

good to soft,"

he explained. "It is lovely ground and we will see how it rides tomorrow. The

forecast is for

mainly dry weather between now and the Vodafone Derby on Saturday afternoon.

Some light

showers could fall overnight Friday into Saturday. The way the ground has dried

this week,

watering for Saturday may have to be considered. I am not anxious to water and

would much

prefer nature to do it for me--a couple of millimeters at any time would

probably suffice."