Nahanni to bid for Derby glory after continuing red-hot Appleby and Buick form

Tuesday: Cazoo Blue Riband Trial, Epsom

Another day, another Classic contender for Godolphin. This time, it was Nahanni who struck for the in-form duo of Charlie Appleby and William Buick when battling to land the Listed Blue Riband Trial.

There is no substitute for match practice and the winner earned quotes of 25-1 for June's Cazoo Derby after proving he handled the unique twists and turns of the track when winning by half a length.

His jockey has spent almost as much time in the winner's enclosure as out of it recently and is well placed to judge potential, having won Classic trials with Native Trail, Wild Beauty and Cachet last week.

Blue Riband Trial: full result and replay

"It wasn't a concern dropping him down in trip after his win at Leicester this month," said Buick, who has operated at an almost 40 per cent strike-rate in the last fortnight. "He got to the front and was comfortable. He saw them off and handled the track, which is key.

Charlie Appleby and William Buick continued their red-hot form with Nahanni

"He stays very well. Every time someone came to him, he went again and at the top of the straight, I thought it would be me and Frankie [Dettori on Mighty Ulysses], but then we had to fight off others after that. He would have learned a lot as he had to fight in a competitive race."

It was not the track's cambers that posed the biggest threat to the winner but Grand Alliance and Zain Sarinda, who picked up the fight after Mighty Ulysses faded under Dettori with a furlong left to travel.

There was almost a sense of inevitability as Nahanni powered through the line given the imperious form of Appleby, who claimed first, second and third with 19 of his last 22 runners before racing on Tuesday.

Nahanni will not have another opportunity to establish his position in the yard's pecking order as he will go straight to the Derby, instead of following the path taken by his stablemate Wirko, who was successful here 12 months ago before finishing fourth in the Chester Vase.

"We're in a very spoiled position as we're sent lovely horses to train," said Appleby's assistant Alex Merriam, who has had plenty of practice dealing with the press in the last week. "He was the one without an entry in the Derby so we thought we should give it a go.

"We always knew he was going to get a mile and a half and it was just nice to see him handle the track. He's had four runs and will probably be put away for the Derby. We're a long way out and he gets an entry after winning, but there's lots of water to be crossed."

Results, replays and analysis

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