Each day in the run-up to the Cazoo Derby, a member of the Timeform team analyses the claims of a leading player. Adam Houghton puts Desert Crown under the microscope.
DESERT CROWN
Owner Saeed Suhail had his blue and yellow colours carried to victory in the 2003 Derby by Kris Kin, described by his trainer Sir Michael Stoute as one of the laziest horses he had handled.
The fact that Kris Kin showed so little at home prompted Kieren Fallon, who rode him for the first time at Epsom, to pass him over when he won his Derby trial, the Dee Stakes at Chester as the 20/1 outsider of four, and his lack of sparkle on the gallops also meant his name was missing at the Derby acceptance stage.
Fortunately for connections, Kris Kin’s Chester win prompted them to come up with the £90,000 fee to add him to the Derby field at the late supplementary stage.
No such measures were required to ensure a place in this year’s Derby line-up for Desert Crown, nor was he overlooked in his trial having identified himself as another top prospect for the Stoute/Suhail combination when easily winning a Nottingham maiden at two.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
It took Kris Kin two goes to win his maiden late in the year as a two-year-old, but Desert Crown went one better, winning first time up in early-November at odds of 11/1. The Stoute two-year-olds are not known for being ready to win on their debuts and he was only of only three such winners in 2021, one of the others sent off at 25/1.
Desert Crown could hardly have made a better impression at Nottingham, travelling fluently close to the pace and then storming clear when Richard Kingscote produced him to lead a furlong out to win by five and a half lengths from Schmilsson (who now has a Timeform rating of 100).
The timefigure added substance to the performance, with Desert Crown winning in a time more than two seconds quicker than the winner of the other division of the maiden.
Stoute had hoped to give Desert Crown another run this spring, but a small setback put paid to those plans and the decision was instead made to go straight to the Dante Stakes at York, widely regarded as the preeminent Derby trial in Britain.
Desert Crown was weak in the betting for the Dante – surprisingly so given that he was already vying for Derby favouritism by the time he stepped foot on the Knavesmire – but he dismissed any doubts with an emphatic victory on just his second start, looking a high-class prospect as he quickened clear inside the final two furlongs to land the spoils by three and three-quarter lengths.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsAdmittedly, the horse who chased him home in the Dante, Royal Patronage, is as big as 33/1 to go one place better at Epsom, but he still gives the form a very solid look as a Group Two-winning juvenile who had run well for a long way when eighth on his return to action in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
It was a performance which suggests Desert Crown could be a colt right out of the top drawer and he wasn’t even fully extended in doing it, so there must be every chance that he’ll have a bigger effort in the locker when the situation demands it at Epsom.
The form Desert Crown showed at York is already the best on offer in this line-up – he is 3 lb clear of Stone Age on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings – and his sire Nathaniel tends to impart plenty of stamina to his progeny, so he seems sure to stay a mile and a half despite some speedy elements on the distaff side of his pedigree.
Stoute has already trained five Derby winners and Desert Crown’s position at the head of the betting looks fully justified as he tries to become a sixth.
PRO:
Desert Crown created an excellent impression when winning the Dante, traditionally the strongest trial for the Derby run in Britain. That form comfortably sets the standard in this line-up and there should be lots more to come from him after just two starts. Sir Michael Stoute has already won the Derby five times and Desert Crown looks a straightforward type who should cope well with this test despite his relative inexperience.
CON:
Desert Crown came from towards the rear of the field when winning the Dante and it will be no surprise if similar tactics are employed here in a race where plenty of his rivals like to go forward. He will be a hostage to fortune if trying to weave his way between runners in the straight, particularly in a big field like this.
