Saeed bin Suroor has secured the services of four-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy to ride Tornado Alert in the Betfred Derby.
Having called on Silvestre de Sousa to ride the son of Too Darn Hot in the 2000 Guineas, the Newmarket handler will turn to his old ally to partner the Godolphin-owned colt in the Epsom showpiece on Saturday week.
The pair have enjoyed many notable victories together with the likes of Group One winners Royal Marine and Benbatl, who also provided Murphy with his first Royal Ascot win in the 2017 Hampton Court Stakes.
More recently the duo have tasted Classic success together with Mawj, who ran out the winner of the 2023 1000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Grade One Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland.
And although Murphy is yet to sit on this year’s 2000 Guineas fourth he will have a spin aboard him on the gallops in Newmarket on Saturday morning in order to get acquainted with his big-race partner.
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Bin Suroor said: “Oisin said he would love to ride him and the plan is for him to come in on Saturday morning to sit him.
“We have had some good days together with Benabtl, who was his first Royal Ascot winner, and more recently Mawj.
“I’ve supported Oisin since he was an apprentice and when I first asked him to come down and ride for us you could see he was a natural jockey.
“He is different, a bit like Frankie. Him and Oisin are very similar and I like the way he rides.
“Every time he rides for me he rides well and he listens to instructions which is the most important thing for a trainer. He is a real professional."
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