∙ The 2013 renewal of the Investec Derby is the 234th running of the Classic.
∙ No woman has ever trained the winner of the Investec Derby and Elaine Burke will become only the seventh woman ever to have a runner in the race following in the footsteps of Marjorie Nightingall (Benroy – 1968), Rosemary Lomax (Milliondollarman – 1977), Nan Birch (Tom Strauss – 1978), Lady Herries (Sherriff’s Star – 1988), Julie Cecil (Ninja Dancer – 1992) and Criquette Head-Maarek (American Post – 2004). American Post and Sherriff’s Star fared best of sextet, both finishing sixth.
∙ Commander In Chief’s victory in 1993 was the last by a colt who had been unraced as a two-year-old. Chopin, Libertarian and Ruler Of The World will be looking to emulate that feat this year.
∙ Frenchman Mickael Barzalona won the Investec Derby on his first ever attempt when steering the Andre Fabre-trained Pour Moi to victory in 2011 and compatriot Pierre-Charles Boudot will try to achieve the same result when partnering the Fabre-trained Ocovango this year.
∙ Epsom’s official betting partner Coral make the John Ryan-trained Ocean Applause a 500/1 shot for this year’s Investec Derby and if he wins the race at this price, he will become the longest-priced winner in the history of the race. That particular honour is currently held by three horses, Jeddah (1898), Signoretta (1908) and Aboyeur (1913), all of whom won at 100/1. The biggest-priced runner-up came in the 1989 renewal when Terimon finished behind Nashwan at odds of 500/1.
∙ The Andreas Wohler-trained Chopin, who was supplemented for this year’s Investec Derby at a cost of £75,000 on Monday, will become the first German-trained horse to run in the Classic. This year’s renewal features runners from four different countries and includes only three British-trained runners – the smallest number since the 2009 running when four British horses lined up.
∙ In total, there are four trainers having their first runner in the Investec Derby. They are James Tate, Elaine Burke, Andreas Wohler and John Ryan.
∙ If Ocovango wins the Investec Derby,he will become the 11th French-trained horse to capture Britain’s premier Classic. The first was Durbar II in 1914 and the most recent was the Andre Fabre-trained Pour Moi in 2011.
∙ There are seven Irish-trained runners in this year’s race and the Irish have been responsible for 16 winners since 1780. The latest came last year when Camelot justified 8/13 favouritism for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
∙ Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier and Michael Tabor have owned the last two Investec Derby winners in the shape of Pour Moi and Camelot. They are represented by Battle Of Marengo, Festive Cheer, Flying The Flag, Mars and Ruler Of The World. All the other owners with runners in this year’s race will be celebrating their first Investec Derby winner should they be successful.
∙ The last Investec Derby winner to wear blinkers was Aboyeur in 1913. No horse has won the Investec Derby wearing cheekpieces although Battle Of Marengo, Ocean Applause and Ruler Of The World could change that this year.
∙ Only 56 chestnut horses have won in the history of the Investec Derby but this year’s race could well see the 57th as six of the 12 horses declared are of that colour.
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PISCES THE PICK OF DERBY STAR SIGNS
If you believe that the name of the Investec Derby winner is written in the stars, then history suggests that the winner will come from Flying The Flag, Mars, Chopin or Ruler Of The World as all four colts were foaled within the dates of the Piscean star sign (19 February – 20 March) which is by far the most successful sign of the zodiac over the past 20 years.
Four of the 12 declared runners were born under Pisces with another four falling under Aquarius (21 January – 18 February) which has been responsible for five of the last 20 Investec Derby winners.
The odds-on favourite, Dawn Approach, was a late foal and is a Taurus, though only Commander In Chief (1993), High-Rise (1998) and Oath (1999) have been successful from that particular star sign in the past 20 years.
However, this year’s favourite has already run more times than those three did put together ahead of the Derby so inexperience can hardly be blamed should he fail to land the race.
Eight of the 12 Investec Derby contenders were born in the Chinese Year of the Tiger but Festive Cheer, Ocovango, Battle Of Marengo and Mirsaale were born in the Year of the Ox.
Aquarius (21 January – 18 February)
Festive Cheer (23 January 2010)
Ocovango (27 January 2010)
Battle Of Marengo (4 February 2010)
Mirsaale (9 February 2010)
Pisces (19 February – 20 March)
Flying The Flag (21 February 2010)
Mars (24 February 2010)
Chopin (8 March 2010)
Ruler Of The World (17 March 2010)
Aries (21 March – 19 April)
Ocean Applause (1 April 2010)
Galileo Rock (18 April 2010)
Taurus (20 April – 20 May)
Dawn Approach (23 April 2010)
Libertarian (13 May 2010)
