Simon Crisford of Godolphin confirmed Thursday that REWILDING (Tiger Hill) is
set to be supplemented to the June 5 Derby (Eng-G1) at a cost of £75,000 on
Monday. Godolphin’s SIMON DE MONTFORT (King’s Best), on the other hand, probably
will not be, with the June 6 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) (Fr-G1) a more
likely destination.
“We are definitely going to supplement Rewilding,” Crisford said. “He was
very impressive when he won (the May 19 Cocked Hat S.) at Goodwood and we think
he ticks all the boxes.
“He has got a great temperament — he appears to be bomb-proof — he
definitely stays the mile and a half and he has plenty of class as well. Whether
he has got enough class to win the Derby, we will find out a week on Saturday.
“The big thing with him is that he seems to be improving. He took his race at
Goodwood really well. He handled the track and the undulations, so we are going
to Epsom full of hope for a nice run.
“AL ZIR (Medaglia d’Oro) and Rewilding have a bit more work to do before the
Derby, and jockeys will be decided next week. It is quite likely that Frankie (Dettori)
will stay on Rewilding — they got on pretty well at Goodwood.
“Frankie wants to sit on Al Zir tomorrow and, after he has ridden him, we
will all be bit wiser.
“Al Zir was a bit disappointing in the Two Thousand Guineas ([Eng-G1] at
Newmarket on May 1). We went there thinking he had a chance, and Frankie felt
that the slow pace did not help him at all. Al Zir went OK (finishing ninth),
but it was not as good as we were hoping for. We did learn from the race that he
definitely wants a longer trip.
“A mile and half might be too far — we don’t know — but a mile and quarter
would definitely be his optimum trip right now and he might stay a bit further.
“CHABAL (Galileo [Ire]) will be left in the Derby on Monday. We will see what
the weather does. But it does not appear that it will rain enough to give him a
realistic chance. The ground at York was really quick and he did not like it at
all (when a remote fourth in the May 13 Dante S. [Eng-G2]). He might be rerouted
to France or wait for a while.
“Simon de Montfort will do a bit of work at the weekend and we will make a
final decision about whether he goes to France or is supplemented to the Derby
after that. I think he is more likely to go for the Prix du Jockey Club.
“I think CAVALRYMAN (Halling) will be our representative in the (June 4)
Coronation Cup (Eng-G1). He ran well (when fifth) in the Dubai Sheema Classic
(UAE-G1) in March and Epsom will probably suit him.”