'I can dream a little bit of a Derby ride' - Frankie Dettori delight after Arrest takes no prisoners

It was worth his coming. One last ride at Chester may just result in one final winner of the Betfred Derby. Especially if the weather does not improve.

Frankie Dettori has won virtually everything worth winning on the Roodee, coming from nearly last to land the Cup on Falcon Eight in 2021 and taking the Cheshire Oaks on a certain Enable four years previously.

But Arrest would become almost as famous as that dual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner if he were to enable the jockey to triumph for a third and final time in Britain's most prestigious Flat race at Epsom next month.

Dettori has already won a fourth 2,000 Guineas and a first Italian 2,000 Guineas this spring and yet another fairytale chapter in the story of his farewell season is no romantic fantasy judged on the way the three-year-old took the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase on what his rider announced was his final mount here.

The Juddmonte colt looked to relish the soft ground, went to the front three furlongs out and bounded clear to score by six and a half lengths from Adelaide River, with a further ten lengths back to third Hadrianus.

Frankie Dettori: looks set to have a big shot at winning a third Derby in his final year Credit: Alan Crowhurst

Arrest is a best-priced 7-1 for Epsom, and 4-1 favourite with one firm, and Dettori certainly regards him as a serious Derby candidate.

"It's great to win on my final ride at Chester, it's an important race and I can dream a little bit of a Derby ride," he said.

"We liked him as a two-year-old but he was very weak. I rode him in work last week and he's strengthened up a lot. We knew that the ground was no problem and the trip was no problem. The race fell apart three out and I had to make my own way home but he couldn't have won it easier."

Continued wet weather would be a big plus and the jockey said: "My main concern would be if it was good to firm at Epsom, he might find that a bit of a challenge. But we had a soft-ground Derby last year so you don't know. He's got a million alternatives if it becomes too firm. This is a good trial, he stays well and he ticks a lot of good boxes – we'll have to see what the opposition is like."

John Gosden, winning the Vase for the first time, was just as pleased with Arrest, a Frankel colt who finished second in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on similarly testing ground last autumn.

"It's delightful," the trainer said. "He's gone and won well over the trip. We'll leave all options open for Epsom. If Epsom was fast I don't think he'd enjoy it as much but he's done nothing but mature and improve."

Asked about the colt's longer-term future, Gosden said: "We put him in the Arc yesterday and he's got the scope to train on at three, four and five even if you wanted to."  

Ten-time Vase winner Aidan O'Brien had to settle for second with Adelaide River and he felt Ryan Moore's mount ran out of stamina.

"We’ll probably drop him back in trip," he said. "We weren’t sure about the trip for him and we thought a mile and a quarter was the trip but we wanted to give him a chance to see what would happen.”

Betfred Derby (1.30 Epsom, Saturday June 3)

Betfred: 5 Auguste Rodin, 6 Arrest, 7 Military Order, 10 Flying Honours, 11 Sprewell, 14 Canberra Legend 16 Dubai Mile, 20 bar

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