2025 Betfred Derby runners, ratings and key trainer quotes: David Jennings' pinstickers' guide
A field of 19 runners will go to post for the Betfred Derby at Epsom this Saturday, but who will come out on top in the world-famous Classic? Read our runner-by-runner guide featuring top quotes and star ratings for the big race live on ITV at 3.30pm.
1 Al Wasl Storm
DJ's view: Strange sire for a Derby contender, although Affinisea has bred the likes of Only By Night, Affordale Fury and Sixmilebridge over jumps. Gritty winner of a Chester maiden, but if he is a gritty winner of a Derby then it will suddenly make Serpentine's success look blatantly obvious.
Trainer view: Owen Burrows: "The form of his Chester maiden win has worked out quite well; the second, third and fourth have all won. He has plenty to find on ratings but should go on the ground and he stays very well."
Star rating: *
2 Damysus
DJ's view: At least we know this guy stays, but has he the speed? You need both. He was bombing home in the Dante, but the worry must be whether he will get tapped for toe when the tempo increases after rounding Tattenham Corner. Likely to stay on to finish somewhere between third and sixth.
Trainer view: Thady Gosden: "He's taken a step forward at home since the Dante and looked to handle the track nicely when we took him to the Derby gallops morning. They've had some rain at the track, but he shouldn't mind some ease in the ground."
Star rating: ***
3 Delacroix
DJ's view: The new number one from Ballydoyle, or maybe he was number one all along. Who knows? Has taken the same pre-Derby path as Galileo and High Chaparral and, boy, was he impressive in those Leopardstown trials. Handles any ground, should stay, arrives in rude health and Ryan Moore prefers him to The Lion In Winter so what's not to like? Has to enter the equation.
Trainer view: Aidan O'Brien: "We have found out that he gets a mile and a quarter and there is every chance he will get a mile and a half. He is a big, powerful horse and we always thought that there was a good chance he would stay. He has form on all types of ground, although I think it was maybe slow enough for him at Doncaster last year. He is a well-balanced horse."
Star rating: ****
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4 Green Storm
DJ's view: You can get 250-1 if you shop around, but I would rather buy a packet of prawn cocktail-flavoured crisps, and I can't stand the smell nor the taste of those.
Star rating: *
5 Lambourn
DJ's view: One of roughly 1.3 million trial winners for Ballydoyle. This chap was a decisive winner of the Chester Vase. It wasn't a great race but he emphatically landed it. Falls into the same sort of category as Damysus in that he will definitely stay and likely to finish in the first five. Doubt that will be first or second, though.
Trainer view: Aidan O'Brien: "He looks like a horse who will stay further and is straightforward. He got the trip at Chester and is a well-balanced horse so we are looking forward to seeing how he gets on."
Star rating: ***
6 Lazy Griff
DJ's view: Didn't stop in the Chester Vase when second to Lambourn. Hard to see that form being reversed here, though, never mind fancying him to shoot down the big guns. That said, of all those at huge prices, and there are loads this year, it wouldn't shock me to see this fellow sneak into the frame for third, fourth or fifth.
Owner view: Tim Palin: "The more rain that falls, the better. He ran a blinder in the Chester Vase and I thought he was going to win turning in. He's in great shape at home, he's come on for his seasonal debut, and if he was to finish fourth or closer then we could think about the St Leger."
Star rating: ***
7 Midak
DJ's view: Wasn't even entered in the race last week but was added at a cost of £75,000. Was that a sentimental supplement given that the 2025 Derby is named in honour of His Highness the Aga Khan? Maybe so, but he's three from three and we have no idea how good he is. Probably not good enough for Epsom glory, but he adds a layer of intrigue to the race nonetheless.
Trainer view: Francis Graffard: "The horse has really done well since his last win. He's come on a lot both physically and mentally and he's taken the travel well. His dam had a lot of stamina and the unknown is the ground."
Star rating: ***
8 New Ground
DJ's view: Another French representative. Watching the re-runs of his races is certainly new ground for me as I had never even heard of him until about a fortnight ago. Guessing he won't become a household name, but rain would help his cause.
Trainer view: Henri-Francois Devin: "He's very versatile in terms of trip and ground. He's got speed from the gate and I think he'll be well suited to the race, while there's a few stamina question marks about some of the others. I'm very much looking forward to it and I expect him to put up a career-best."
Star rating: **
9 Nightime Dancer
DJ's view: First came to my attention when our very own Tom Segal put him up in his Pricewise column ahead of the Lingfield Derby Trial. I thought the man had gone mad, but he obviously saw something I didn't at Southwell. He ran really well at Lingfield so he was right and I was wrong, but I cannot envisage him running really well here.
Trainer view: Richard Hannon: "He was in contention right until the last 100m in the Trial at Lingfield, where the ground was plenty quick enough, but it showed us he is a colt with lots of ability and the going at Epsom will definitely be in his favour, especially if the rain arrives."
Star rating: **
10 Nightwalker
DJ's view: Hmmm. This guy has been confused. Does he have the temperament for a Derby? I cannot get his Leicester debut out of my head where he was the greenest shade of green you could ever imagine. He has matured and has ability, but you need to do absolutely everything right to win a Derby and I have a suspicion he will do one or two things wrong
Trainer view: Thady Gosden: "He ran a nice trial in the Dante when he finished fifth and finished off well which suggested he should be suited by going up to a mile and a half. If they have a significant amount of rain, however, it might not be his ideal conditions."
Star rating: ***
11 Pride Of Arras
DJ's view: Unbeaten and unwise to think he cannot win the Derby. Yet I think he cannot win the Derby. Went off a hell of a big price in the Dante, but nicely on top at the line there. I have my suspicion it wasn't a Dante we can trust but, then again, how do we know for sure it wasn't a vintage running? This New Bay colt could be absolutely anything and it's only my gut telling me he won't win, nothing else. Very unwise.
Trainer view: Ralph Beckett: "He's trained well since the Dante and worked well on the grass here last week. I'm happy with the way he's training and the way he looks – he's tightened up for the Dante. We're going there with our best foot forward. He has more speed than I imagined he would have – having trained his dam and his brothers and sisters I never expected him to be as quick as he is. The fact that he's a very well-balanced horse and had a half-sister and a half-brother who both won around Epsom gives us significant encouragement as well."
Star rating: ***
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12 Rogue Impact
DJ's view: Last in the Lingfield Derby Trial. More chance of a four-year-old winning this year's Derby.
Owner view: Tony Elliott: "We’re very proud after only four and a half years since we started to have a runner in the Derby. He will definitely outrun his odds."
Star rating: *
13 Ruling Court
NON-RUNNER
14 Sea Scout
DJ's view: Caused a shock in the Blue Riband Trial here in April when giving Trinity College a lecture on how to carry your head in the closing stages. Was 40-1 for that and will be three times that price here having only finished eighth in the Dante. Can't see it myself.
Trainer view: Simon Crisford: "He’s done very well in the build-up to the race. He won the trial at Epsom over ten furlongs. At the time we were a little disappointed with his effort in the Dante, but he wasn’t beaten very far and I think it was a very solid race. He’s an exciting horse."
Star rating: **
15 Stanhope Gardens
DJ's view: I might have won the Salisbury race he landed a fortnight ago. Well, maybe in my heyday before I knew what beef in black bean sauce tasted like. The vibes from the yard all along have been that he is a realistic Derby contender and I would tend to agree. I have a feeling he will finish ahead of stablemate Pride Of Arras.
Trainer view: Ralph Beckett: "He's a very well-balanced horse and very light on his feet. I have felt it likely that he will be suited by Epsom. I have no concerns about trip or track for him. It was pretty soft the day he was second in the Autumn Stakes [behind Delacroix] when he came up the Rowley Mile well. He's a very straightforward customer."
Star rating: ***
16 Tennessee Stud
DJ's view: Already a Group 1 winner and there aren't too many of those in here, although there should probably be an asterisk next to the Criterium de Saint-Cloud as only three ran and it was on bottomless ground. He still had to win it and did so in decent style. Expected to come on from his reappearance against Delacroix, but will need to come on a lot.
Trainer view: Joseph O'Brien: "We think he's come forward from his run at Leopardstown. He'll love the test of Epsom and the distance, while he's versatile when it comes to going. He's one of the few Group 1 winners in the race so he's absolutely earned his spot and hopefully he can run with credit."
Star rating: **
17 The Lion In Winter
DJ's view: The most talented horse in the race. That's a bold statement considering Ruling Court is already a Classic winner and disposed of the mighty Field Of Gold at Newmarket, but this guy beat him comfortably in the Acomb last season. It seems nothing has gone right since, but the ability still looked to be there during the middle part of the Dante. He showed enough there to make me think he can still win the Derby, but it will be on quicker ground over 1m2f when we really see the brilliance.
Trainer view: Aidan O'Brien: "We think he has made good progress since the Dante, which we thought he would as he was only just ready to start there. He was a bit behind fitness-wise at York and was very fresh, but everything has gone well since. Ryan was happy with how he travelled in the Dante – he just got a bit chopped when he was getting ready to challenge. Ryan just nursed him after that and he wasn’t beaten far for third in the end. The Derby will only be his second run of the year and you would imagine whatever he does he is going to come forward again."
Star rating: *****
18 Tornado Alert
DJ's view: Had three top horses in front of him in the 2,000 Guineas and was only supposed to be 80 per cent fit there. That bodes well for him. Nice draw, nice jockey and nice profile. Is nice enough, though?
Trainer view: Saeed bin Suroor: "He ran well in the 2,000 Guineas and came out of the race in good form. Oisin Murphy came and rode him on Wednesday and he looks a nice, relaxed horse going into the race. I think a mile and a half around Epsom is going to suit. He’s a nice size of a horse and looks as though he will handle the track well."
Star rating: ***
19 Tuscan Hills
DJ's view: Unbeaten at two. Only seen once at three and was well beaten in the Dante. Has ground to make up with quite a few of these.
Jockey view: David Egan: "Any rain that comes would be a positive, which it could well do by the looks of it. He’s well balanced enough to go around Epsom as he won around Pontefract as a two-year-old which is an undulating track. I think he’ll get the trip."
Star rating: **
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DJ's Derby verdict: 1-2-3 prediction
1 The Lion In Winter
2 Delacroix
3 Stanhope Gardens
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