Dermot Weld shoots for first Derby win with Casual Conquest!
Dermot Weld will be aiming for his first Vodafone Derby win when his steed Casual Conquest runs as the early favourite in Saturday's Epsom Downs race track extravaganza.
This will be the 229 th running of The Derby and it presents Dermot Weld with his best chance of victory yet.
Casual Conquest is expected to start favourite in the Vodafone Derby at Epsom Downs race track after connections paid the £75,000 supplementary entry fee.
Weld has only had four previous English Derby runners - Theatrical (7th in 1985), Flash Of Steel (6th in 1986), Humbel (8th in 1995) and Refuse To Bend (13th in 2003).
He's already met with success courtesy of Blue Wind in the 1981 Oaks and Refuse To Bend, winner of the 2000 Guineas five years ago.
He has won his own Irish Derby twice - with Zagreb (1996) and Grey Swallow (2004).
Casual Conquest is a slight favourite in early markets at around the 7/2 quote, with Curtain Call a 5/1 chance.
Curtain Call, a son of Sadler's Wells, is being prepared by Luca Cumani. Cumani is shooting for a third Derby win and aiming to continue a pattern - he won it in 1988 with Kahyasi and 1998 with High-Rise.
The 18 likely runners in the Derby will probably include beaten English and Irish 2000 Guineas favourite New Approach.
His inclusion threw the market into some confusion and there is likely to be another strong push for him this weekend.
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