COOPER SET TO WATER

Andrew Cooper, Clerk of the Course at Epsom Downs, is set to water the track this evening after an excellent first day of action at the Investec Derby Festival.

Speaking at 5.50pm, he said: "I will go and walk the track again after the last race, but our thinking is that we will water.

"The watering will take place from the mile and a half start to the pull up area.

"However, we won't water the last two furlongs of the hill which was watered earlier in the week and I don't want to do that the night before the Derby.

"In our experience the last two furlongs of the hill does not take watering particularly well.

"Walking the track this morning, I felt we had the track in a good place.

"The sun is now out and the warmth is here. It is only going to get hotter tomorrow obviously. That is really part of the thinking in terms of watering.

"I think we are right to do something (water). Two and a half to three millimetres is what we will add and it will be no more than that. I would be very surprised if we changed our minds on that and that should be finished by 10.00pm tonight.

"I think we have to have an eye on 4.30pm tomorrow afternoon in a day which is going to be bright and sunny and get up to 27 degrees potentially.

"I think we all know how this track dries out so quickly and it would have dried out again today.

"After the first race, the jockeys were saying it is nice ground. It was on the fast side of good in the home straight and slightly easier coming down the hill.

"The fresh strip of ground comes in from the last eight furlongs on the inside of the track, after being dolled out today.

"There has been some great racing today. Anapurna was a first Classic winner for Frankel. She was proven over the Oaks trip. Her and Pink Dogwood were two lovely fillies who dominated the finish.

"As for Defoe in the Investec Coronation Cup, I'm very pleased for Roger Varian who is a trainer I have a lot of time for. He is a lovely man to deal with as a Clerk of the Course - I have spoken to him quite a lot this week! He is a gentleman and very good to deal with - it's nice for him."     

INVESTEC DERBY FACTS 2019

Other than Aidan O'Brien, who has won the Investec Derby six times, the two previous Derby-winning trainers with runners in this year's field are John Gosden (Golden Horn, 2015 and Benny The Dip, 1997) and Charlie Appleby, who won last year's race with Masar. Gosden is due to be represented this year by Humanitarian and Appleby by Line Of Duty.

Frankie Dettori is having his 24th Investec Derby 24 ride on Circus Maximus and he is behind only Lester Piggott (36) in the list of jockeys who have ridden in the Classic the most.

Dettori (Authorized 2007 and Golden Horn 2005) and Ryan Moore (Workforce 2000 and Ruler Of The World 2013) are the winning-most current jockeys with two wins apiece.

Chris Hayes is the only jockey having his first-ever Investec Derby ride this year and he is aboard Madhmoon. Two jockeys since 2000 have won on their race debut: Mickael Barzalona in 2011 on Pour Moi and Padraig Beggy in 2017 on Wings Of Eagles. It is Beggy's only Group 1 success to date. He has ridden two Group 3 winners, all for his boss Aidan O'Brien for whom he partners Sovereign in the 2019 Investec Derby.

Twelve of the 13 horses in this year's Investec Derby line-up are by Coolmore Stud's champion sire Galileo, his sons or his grandsons - the exception is Sir Dragonet.

Galileo, winner of the Investec Derby in 2001, is the sire of six runners in this year's renewal: Anthony Van Dyck, Circus Maximus, Japan, Line Of Duty, Norway and Sovereign.

Galileo has four sons with runners this year. Australia (Investec Derby winner in 2014) has two representatives in Bangkok and Broome, while New Approach, Nathaniel and Noble Mission all have a runner apiece. The supplemented Telecaster is by the 2008 Derby winner New Approach, the sire of last year's winner Masar, and Hiroshima is by Nathaniel. Noble Mission, the full-brother to the record-breaking champion Frankel, has his first Derby runner with Humanitarian.

New Approach's sire son Dawn Approach is represented for the first time in the Classic by Madhmoon.

Sir Dragonet is the one horse in the field not by Galileo or his sons. He is by Coolmore's Camelot, and so is a grandson of the French Derby winner and current winning-most Derby sire, Montjeu.

As Camelot is a grandson of Galileo's sire Sadler's Wells, it means that all horses in the field trace back to Sadler's Wells.

Stall 10 has the best record in the Classic with 10 winners since 1967. Masar won from the draw last year, and Norway takes the spot this time.

Stall five has been the next most successful spot: Circus Maximus is drawn in five this year.

No horse drawn in stall two (Telecaster) or stall 11 (Japan) has won the Classic so far.