WISDOM NOT WISE FOR THE GUINEAS

Ian Heitman thinks the Futurity Trophy winner is a better bet for the Derby

- Ian Heitman

Wet weather played havoc with the intended flat turf programme in the final weeks of the turf season with just five of 12 fixtures taking place after Champions Day at Ascot. Among the meetings lost were the two-day fixture at Newbury and season finale at Doncaster, that card transferred onto the all-weather at Newcastle.

Group/Listed races

Doncaster cancelled their first day of an intended two-day fixture on October 27 and 28 and were just about able to run the second day which featured the final UK Group 1 race of the season, the Futurity Trophy over a mile on very testing ground.

The field of eight was reduced to seven when Battle Cry was withdrawn having got very upset in the stalls. He was due to be one of two in the race for Aidan O’Brien who was without the services of Ryan Moore who was serving a rare suspension.

James Doyle, who had ridden Warm Heart to two Group 1 successes for O’Brien earlier in the year, was given the job of riding Diego Velazquez, who was bidding to extend his unbeaten record to three. O’Brien was looking for a third consecutive win in the race and a 12th in total.

Despite behind unbeaten and the excellent record of the trainer in the race, Diego Velazquez was only second favourite at 9/4, Ancient Wisdom, easy winner of the Group 3 Autumn Stakes on his previous start and supplemented for this race, was the 5/4 favourite to give his trainer Charlie Appleby a first win in the race and a first UK Group 1 win since May.

Two course winners from the St Leger meeting were the next two in the betting, Listed Flying Scotsman winner Dancing Gemini at 9/2, and the once-raced God’s Window at 8/1.