'For a race of that magnitude, you know if you’re running' - British trainers largely in favour of 72-hour declarations for Derby

The switch to 72-hour declarations for this year's Betfred Derby has been broadly welcomed by British trainers after ten-time race winner Aidan O'Brien questioned the decision on Monday.

Michael Bell, who landed the Classic with Motivator in 2005, said he does not believe there will be "any downside" to the change, which means the final field will be known 24 hours earlier than usual.

"I don’t think it’s an issue as for a race of that magnitude, you know if you’re running anyway," said the trainer. "Obviously, it leaves more margin for error for things to go wrong with abscesses or a change in the weather, but you pretty well know you're going to run in the Derby whether it’s Wednesday morning or Thursday morning.