Betfred Derby latest news | 'The track shouldn't be a problem' for Wathnan's Damysus at Epsom says James Doyle

In eight previous appearances in the prestigious mile-and-a-half race the Classic-winning rider has yet to finish better than sixth, which he achieved aboard the Charlie Appleby-trained One Ruler in 2021.

However, the 37-year-old is confident he can change that aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained son of Frankel after partnering him during the annual Betfred Derby Gallops Morning at the track on Tuesday.

Working alongside stablemate Nightwalker, who is also on course for the June 7 prize, the Wathnan Racing-owned colt appeared to handle the undulating track well leaving Doyle optimistic of his chances of glory.

Doyle said: “I was delighted with him. It wasn’t a case of popping the bonnet and seeing what he had under the engine, it was just a case of letting him have a good feel of the track and he coped with it very well.

“As you can see he is a very neat horse with a quick action. He is very well balanced and he relaxed beautifully the way round.

"When we came down Tattenham Corner he swapped his leads nicely and then flicked out in the straight.

“You would be pretty hopeful the track shouldn’t be a problem for him judged on today’s evidence.

“The pace you will be going on race day is completely different to what we did this morning.

"But you are still going around on the same ground and it is just a good opportunity for the horses to get across the roads.

“I’ve not ridden a Derby winner so it is hard for me to say what credentials you need for a Derby horse, but I think Damysus certainly has a lot of the credentials people look for.

“I’ve had eight goes and finishing sixth is the best I’ve done. It took Frankie (Dettori) long enough to win it so it shows how tough it is.

“Wathnan Racing is very much in its infancy and they have had huge success so far, but to win a race like the Derby so early on would be magical for the team.”

Although Doyle, who returned to riding last week following a spell out with a broken collarbone, is yet to ride Damysus in public since his debut success at Southwell in December he insists there were lots of positives to take out of his recent Dante second.

He added: “It has to be positive (what you take out of the Dante) and he is so lightly raced.

"He has taken big steps between each of his runs and he has been in the thick of it quite early in his career.

“I think there are a few things you can upgrade slightly with that run at York.

"He might have been slightly on the unfavoured part of the track that day and he had to make his challenge on his own.

“He looked to be following the right horse in The Lion In Winter, but he didn’t take him far enough into the race so he had to pop out and do his own thing.

“He did lean a touch left under pressure showing signs of inexperience so hopefully he has learnt from that."

And while Doyle did not earmark Damysus, who is a 10/1 chance for the Derby with the race sponsor, as a potential candidate for the race following his debut success he was confident he had found a talented type.

He added: “It wasn’t a great field (he beat at Southwell), but I thought he showed the qualities of a nice horse, but it was impossible to say he was a Derby horse at that stage of his career.

"I definitely liked him when he won, but he won over seven furlongs the first time so it was quite an inferior distance for him.

"However, he showed a lot of quality the way he quickened away that day to suggest he was quite smart."

Equally happy with what he saw at the iconic Surrey venue was joint-trainer Thady Gosden, who believes the trip to the track will serve both Damysus and Nightwalker in good stead come the big occasion.

Gosden said: “We were very happy with both of them. It is obviously a bit unusual for them coming down in the morning to do a little bit of work, especially here as it is an open track.

“Both of them handled it very well and neither of them worried too much. "They are two quite intelligent horses and you could see them taking it all in.

“You could see Damysus pricking his ears coming to the line. It was just more out of inquisitiveness than worry.

“It is not miles off from the Derby, but neither of them had hard races in the Dante and they were both doing their best work late on and they bounced out of that.

“The Dante was an interesting race and there were a few little things to take out of it, but they are two horses we think will suit here well.

“As we know it is a pretty unique track so it is good for them to have a little feel of it beforehand.”

"Again this is another step up in the Derby, as it should be, but I’m very happy with both of them."

Although for some horses the £1.5 million contest only comes onto the agenda early on in their three year-old careers, Gosden insists it is a race that has been on the horizon for both colts for some time.

Gosden said: “With the Wathnan Racing team we had earmarked this race out a while back (for Damysus) and we had planned a route to, which is going as we hoped at the moment.

“Even towards the back end of last year it looked like Nightwalker might shape into this type of horse.

“He really seems to have matured this year. He has been very straightforward in his homework. You could see today that he led around here and is very easy to manage and he has the ideal temperament.

“We had this in mind for him as did Barry Mahon (European racing manager for Juddmonte) and the Juddmonte team, but he has shaped and progressed the right way into it.

“You would be surprised if they don’t stay the trip as their pedigrees suggest they will and also the way they travel during the race points to that as well.

“They have both got a good turn of foot and travel well in their races. We know it is a big occasion so it can get to them a little bit, but just on the evidence here this morning they seemed to handle everything well.”

While Gosden has no recollection of Benny The Dip supplying his father with the first of his two victories in the race in 1997 he has vivid memories of Golden Horn leading home a yard one-two in the 2015 renewal.

And with that image still relatively fresh in his mind Gosden, who joined his father on the licence at Clarehaven Stables back in 2021, hopes he can now add the race to CV.

He added: “When Benny The Dip won I was two so I can’t say it is too vivid, but of course Golden Horn was a pretty wonderful day.

“We had Jack Hobbs in the race too, who was purchased by my mother (Rachel Hood) and some of her friends at Tattersalls Book Two, but he became a Godolphin owned horse going into the race. He came second in the Dante and second in the Derby so that was a pretty memorable day coming first and second in that.

“I think coming to the Derby for any reason is hard to forget as it is a pretty amazing spectacle as it is the defining race of the season and, for a lot of people, their careers I guess.

"It is a special track and a special place when it is full and it is a wonderful day to be involved in. It is not the easiest race to prepare for, but coming here helps. It is a unique test of everything and until you get to it you never quite know how it will go.

“Winning a Derby is why a lot of people do this of course. It’s great to be able to have two chances going in there and hopefully all goes well on the day."

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