Dettori is full of Desire to seal Derby hat-trick

Still the public face of racing, the colourful Italian is no stranger to Epsom glory after winning the blue riband race on Authorized in 2007 and then Golden Horn nearly 12 months ago.

Both horses won York’s Dante Stakes on the journey to Epsom glory, but both horses had far more experience in the locker than the John Gosden-trained Wings Of Desire.

Unraced as a two-year-old, the colt only made his racecourse debut last month when finishing third at Newmarket before winning a maiden on the Wolverhampton all-weather.

Withdrawn from the initial Derby entries, owner Lady Bamford will supplement the ante-post favourite on Monday, and at a cost of £75,000, after Wings Of Desire won emphatically on Knavesmire in a race which blew the hopes of several fancied Derby favourites.

“I won it last year and fingers crossed I can do it again,” said 45-year-old Dettori as he reflected upon his 30-year career in the saddle.

“Epsom is a unique track. You rise 100 feet in the first part then you run downhill round a bend. It’s cambered right to left so it is very difficult for a horse to keep balanced.

“Only the good ones go and win the race because there are so many challenges to overcome. In our sport it is the equivalent of the Monaco Grand Prix or Wimbledon. It’s a massive event. Over 100,000 people come and it confirms the best horse of the generation, so it’s very important for us.

“The pressure is on in the weighing room. To win that race it can automatically make the horse worth between £5-10m.

“There’s pressure on everyone, even I feel it.

“My mouth goes dry and my heart starts beating a bit faster with the anticipation. Obviously the atmosphere from the crowd adds to it, it’s completely different to anything else.

“I guess it will be exactly the same for the players before an FA Cup Final – we all feel the tension as you really want to go out there and perform.”

Joe Tuite has been dealt a blow with the news that the injury-prone Litigant, his rags-to-riches horse, has suffered another setback and has been ruled out of his summer targets.

The talented but fragile eight-year-old landed York’s Ebor and Doncaster’s November Handicap last year and was being trained for the Ascot Gold Cup.

“He’s had one of his little blips,” said a rueful Tuite, who is based in Lambourn. “We’re on the back foot now so that rules the summer out.

“For the big yards it would be easier to take, but we are working men. Litigant certainly doesn’t make life easy for us, but that’s what makes the good days even better. He’ll have an autumn campaign when at least he should get his soft ground. We’ve still got every faith in him.”

Yorkshire jockey Sammy Jo Bell must spend six weeks in a wheelchair after she fractured part of her pelvis in a fall at Carlisle last Friday.

The jockey – attached to the yard of Malton trainer Richard Fahey – was injured when her mount, Royal Duchess, reared up and fell on her on the way to the start of a race. However, the extent of the injury was only diagnosed when she was transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary this week where she’s undergone surgery.

Her agent Richard Hale said: “They operated on her on Wednesday and unfortunately for her they’ve had to put a plate in.

“They’ve told her no weight-bearing for six weeks, so she’ll need a chair to get about.

“Who knows how long she’ll be out for?

“The most important thing first is that she gets back on her feet.”

Wick Powell’s recent home-work convinced Yorkshire trainer David Barron to go for gold in the Brian Yeardley Continental Two-Year-Old Trophy at Beverley tomorrow.

The young of Sakhee’s Secret made quite a splash when successful on his debut at Southwell last month, and now takes a steep rise in grade for the £25,000 highlight on the Westwood.

Barron, who won the coveted five-furlong sprint two years ago with Midterm Break, reports Wick Powell in fine fettle.

The Thirsk handler said: “He’s been quite a nice horse all the way through and he did it nicely on the sand at Southwell. He’s had a touch of sore shins since then, so we’ve had to give him a bit of time, but I’ve been very happy with how he’s been working for the last couple of weeks.

“He’s in a novice auction race at Redcar on Monday, but he’d have to give weight away in that and we thought we’d rather go for something like this where he can run off reasonably level weights.”

Bingley trainer Sue Smith recorded her stable’s first win of the 2016-17 National Hunt campaign when Perseid prevailed at Bangor yesterday under Sean Quinlan.