‘Every Derby is different’ - Epsom clerk of the course Andrew Cooper reflects on his time at the helm

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It will be 27 years ago this weekend that Andrew Cooper – one of Britain's most respected course clerks – took charge of his first Derby meeting at Epsom. 

While it was a day of days for William and Maureen Haggas as well as jockey Michael Hills thanks to Shaamit, Cooper has had half a lifetime of Derby memories added since and, as he readily points out, "every one is different."

There is no doubt the build-up to this year's Betfred-sponsored race will place more focus than ever on securing the site, with the threat of a demonstration aimed at preventing the race taking place well briefed by Animal Rising, and the Jockey Club's court injunction raising the stakes for all involved further.

There will be plenty of time to consider the likely impact of the proposed action but for now, at the start of what many Front Runner readers will consider one of their favourite weeks, it's time to raid the memory banks of the man at the centre of every Derby for more than a tenth of the great race's history.

"I took over clerking in 1996 for Shaamit’s Derby, though I had been involved as part of the Epsom team since Nashwan’s Derby in 1989," says Cooper. "My role on Derby day had been to follow the race in one of the patrol vehicles so that was my earliest involvement with the race. 

"There was quite a lot going on at the time I took over in the second year of the Saturday Derby, while we’d just moved the parade ring as well."

Shaamit and William Haggas in the winner's enclosure after the Derby in 1996Credit: Phil Smith

Cooper doesn't really allow himself to have a hierarchy of winners but is unable to pass over two brothers who have carved their names deep in the fabric of Epsom. 

"I shouldn’t say favourite Derby but Galileo and Sea The Stars stand out during my tenure, not just for how they won the Derby but of course what they’ve done as stallions since, including siring Derby winners. 

"I remember discussing with John Oxx where he would like to stable Sea The Stars. I think he was over for the gallops morning - what was then Breakfast with the Stars - and we went for a walk down to what you might call 'Ballydoyle corner', where their horses are usually stabled. 

"We went just round the corner to a nice shaded spot and he felt that would do. 

"It’s actually box number one in the racecourse stables and we always put up the names of the Derby winners. I think he thought it had worked out well for the couple that had been in there previously for connections of Dr Devious and Authorized."

For once Cooper has been presented with a completely settled weather outlook for the week, the course not having had any rainfall since May 12 and with none forecast. 

He says: "There’s a very delicate balance in terms of the ground at Epsom, which drains very quickly and at 500 feet above sea level and on a chalk base, can dry pretty quickly as well.

"With what we’re aiming for on Derby day, Oaks day can be vulnerable if there’s a sudden break in the weather.

I remember in Snowfall’s year of 2021, standing by the winning post talking on the phone to a Met Office forecaster at six in the morning on the day of the race. They were very confident that the heavy showers in the south were going to miss us, but we ended up with around half an inch of rain.

"Your heart sinks a bit when that happens but it’s out of your control. And I prefer to be positive with the watering, especially early in the week, because logistically you can’t put as much on once the meeting has started."

Cooper adds: "I’m actually very relaxed about running the Derby on good to firm and I think, going back to Galileo, that has been the going description for six of my Derbys, with Anthony Van Dyck the most recent in 2019. I know people think I’m frightened of that ground but it’s not true.

"It’s just that here – and at a lot of courses – it doesn’t stay genuinely good ground for very long, it’s quite quickly on the move one way or another. It’s also more of a challenge when you run the Derby at 4.30, which I suppose is one upside of a 1.30 start this year."

Once again all three Group 1 races over the two-day meeting will pass without a runner from France, something Cooper regrets, especially given some special memories of successful Gallic raids.

"I’d love to get back to the days of more French participation," he says. "It was great when Pour Moi won. Andre Fabre thought he finally had the right horse and he brought him over for Breakfast with the Stars.

Pour Moi: won the Derby for trainer Andre Fabre in 2011Credit: Mark Cranham

"In the time we’ve been doing it he worked faster than any other horse we’ve had, and the rest is history. The photo of Mickael Barzalona celebrating is part of Derby folklore.

"Cirrus Des Aigles winning the Coronation Cup was great too. We’d been in touch with Corine [Barande Barbe] almost from the start of the year and for it to work out - the ground was just about alright for him - and for the horse to win was great.

"But there were some heart-stopping moments after the race because it was clear he’d picked up a knock and he wasn’t moving all that well and couldn’t really even make it back to the winner's enclosure. Still it turned out not to be serious.

"St Nicholas Abbey winning three Coronations was something else as well."

And so Cooper looks forward to another chapter in Oaks and Derby history being written. Even with all the heightened tension around this year's race and an unusual 1.30 start time, he remains positive.

He says: "I was brought up on 24, 25-runner Derbys that were often wide open and while we won’t have that sort of field, it looks very competitive. Every Derby is different."

Monday's picks

The campaigns of Vadeni and Erevann have been somewhat intertwined this year, with the desire to keep the two apart writ large in their choice of early seasons.

Vadeni clearly ran no sort of race at the Curragh on Sunday but that might see the layers give a slight nudge in the right direction to Erevann, who faces six rivals in a mouthwatering edition of the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan (3.25 Longchamp). 

This will be the first time Erevann has tried further than a mile but the 1m1¼f trip might easily bring about improvement, while his comeback third at Saint-Cloud showed plenty of promise. 

The French handicapper thinks he has 5lb to find with Onesto, who will enjoy the drying ground but is making his first start of the year and is also arguably in need of another furlong. 

Cases can also be made for Anmaat and Buckaroo but to these eyes, Erevann’s close-up third to Inspiral in the Prix Jacques le Marois is just about the best piece of form on offer.

Erevann15:25 Longchamp

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Jky: Cristian Demuro Tnr: J-C Rouget

There has only been one three-year-old who has attempted the Racing TV Zetland Gold Cup (4.00 Redcar) in the last decade, with Leroy Leroy beaten a head in 2019. The fact that Ed Bethell is pitching Oviedo in against battle-hardened rivals is therefore notable, while 14lb in weight-for-age makes him worth a second look. 

Oviedo has one standout piece of form at two to recommend him – namely when third to Chaldean in the Acomb Stakes on just his second start – and there was just enough encouragement in his comeback run in the Burradon Stakes to persuade me he might be the answer. 

Oviedo16:00 Redcar

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Jky: Callum Rodriguez Tnr: Edward Bethell

'He remains a stayer with significant potential' - our Monday tipster has five bank holiday fancies 

Three things to look out for on Monday

1. While the Zetland Gold Cup may hog the headlines and the majority of the betting interest at Redcar, history suggests it may be worth keeping an eye on the Celebration Of Tom Hamilton's Life EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (2.50). The last four winners have all gone on to contest one of the five-furlong races for juveniles at Royal Ascot, with Liberty Beach the clear pick of those on the basis of her fourth-placed effort in the Queen Mary. The race has only existed in its current form since 2016 and would have had five Ascot runners had Charburn not been withdrawn from the Windsor Castle Stakes in 2017, so it should be inferred plenty of trainers target it with their sharper types.

2. Unlike both Britain and France it’s not a bank holiday in the Republic of Ireland but Ballinrobe can nonetheless expect a decent crowd for the €80,000 McHale Mayo National (6.30). Peregrine Run is the sort of horse any yard would love to have and the 13-year-old will once again be saddled with top weight, though 7lb off for the services of Rob James continues to be legal larceny. Peregrine Run won this race back in 2019 off top weight of 11st 10lb, and was third again 12 months ago under 11st 5lb. Talking to my colleague Conor Fennelly, Peter Fahey observed that “he’s not getting any younger but he always runs a nice race at Ballinrobe." Peregrine Run in fact likes the west of the country full stop, since he also has a valuable handicap and a Group 3 success at Killarney on his resume.

3. It will not have completely escaped your notice that today is when the £85,000 supplementary fee for late entry into the Betfred Derby must be paid. Passenger is an intended addition, while the horse he dead-heated for third with in the Dante, Continuous, would also need to be added at this stage if he is to join the Ballydoyle team. Aidan O’Brien has eight of the remaining 21 entries, with Monday also the six-day confirmation stage. It is also the first forfeit stage for Sunday’s Qatar Prix du Jockey Club, meaning the gradual winnowing of which colt will be aimed at either Epsom or Chantilly begins in earnest. 

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