Epic Hero

Epic Hero didn’t have a lot of luck in the Group 3 Darley Stakes. Held up early on by James Doyle, a gap closed in front of him on the run to the two-furlong marker when he wanted to go forward. He did chart his way through traffic, despite appearing to become a little unbalanced on the run into the Dip, and he was staying on well when he got squeezed out of it a bit again as the winner Lady Wannabe and the leader Dream Castle came together in front of him. He probably wouldn’t have beaten Lady Wannabe, who stayed on powerfully to win well, but he probably would have finished second if he had enjoyed a clear run.

It was a good return by Simon and Ed Crisford’s horse, after a disappointing run at Sandown in a listed race last month. But they didn’t go a great pace in that race, and he had run well on his seasonal debut to finish second to Certain Lad in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting. Second to Persian King in the Group 3 Prix de Fontainebleau last year as a three-year-old when he was with Godolphin and Andre Fabre, this was much more like it. He remains a talented individual who should be capable of winning a listed race or a Group 3 race. He holds an entry in a listed race at Newmarket on Saturday, and he will be of interest if he takes his chance in that.

Newmarket, 10^th October 2020