Damysus
You can understand why Pride Of Arras was all the rage for the Derby after he won the Dante at York on Thursday. He showed a fine turn of foot when Rossa Ryan asked him to pick up, he was brave in manoeuvring his way through a tight gap, and he kept on well all the way to the line. And it was his seasonal debut and just his second run ever. Also, he is a half-brother to Sweet Fantasy, who is one for one at Epsom, and a three-parts brother to Patient Dream, who won two of his four races there. He is a big player now in the Derby picture, no question. But, with The Lion In Winter's defeat also commanding a significant proportion of the post-race attention, the performance that Damysus put up in finishing second may have gone a little under the radar.
Weak in the market beforehand, the Gosdens' colt was well back in the field early on off a sedate pace. (The winner's finishing speed of over 108% of overall speed.) Ninth of the 11 runners passing the three-furlong marker, he was still travelling well on the run to the two-furlong marker when Kieran Shoemark moved him towards the near side and asked him for his effort. When he did, the Frankel colt picked up well and, while he couldn't get to Pride Of Arras, he stayed on well all the way to the line, clocking the fastest final four-furlong finishing split in the race and going down just over a length.
An impressive winner of a novice stakes at Southwell in December on his only run at two, Damysus put up a nice performance on his debut this season in the Classic Trial at Sandown, coming under a ride early and keeping on well down the outside to finish third. This was a nice step forward from that, on just his third run ever and his second run on grass. A son of Fankel and out of a mare who recorded two of her three wins - in the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont and the Group 2 Prix de Malleret - over a mile and a half, he could improve for the step up to a mile and a half, and he could be a big player too in the Derby picture.
York, 15th May 2025
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