Harry Bentley thrilled to earn Derby debut on Max Vega

He is due to partner the outsider Max Vega who won at Pontefract last September before landing the Zetland Stakes at Newmarket.

Entries close today and Bentley hopes his own experiences of Epsom’s unique undulations will be an advantage in a blue riband contest widely regarded as Flat racing’s ultimate thoroughbred test.

“I’m very much looking forward to it,” he told The Yorkshire Post last night. “My first ride in the race, it’s a big deal to get a spin in it.

“It means an awful lot. It’s the biggest race of the season. The Derby is the biggest race in the country and, arguably, the most important race in the world.

“For those reasons, it means an awful lot. I’ve ridden Epsom a lot over the last 10 years and have won quite a few places there. I know the place and will prepare by watching some previous Derbies.”

From the perspective of Bentley who is still buoyed by his Northumberland Plate success on Caravan Of Hope just last weekend, the key will be to get a good position in the early stages.

Yet this, he says, also requires a jockey to be an astute judge of pace for this mile and a half Classic on a course that can resemble a roller-coaster from a rider’s perspective.

Go too fast, says Bentley, and your horse won’t get home. Stay towards the back, he explains, and you risk being stuck behind tiring horses as the key protagonists kick on.

Riders, he says, need to keep their mounts balanced and he describes Max Vega, trained by Ralph Beckett and owned by the Pickford Hill Partnership, as a “very straightforward” horse.

And then they need to keep plenty in hand for the home straight when horses, tested by the descent to Tattenham Corner, have to handle cambers which put a premium on stamina and balance.

The best example, he says, came in 2010 when Ryan Moore on Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Workforce appeared totally unperturbed by the pacemaker who, to the uninformed, looked a surefire winner halfway up the home straight. Within strides Moore, who Bentley clearly respects and admires, had put the race to bed in spectacular style and demonstrated why the margin between winning and losing is such a fine one on the Epsom Downs.

A year later, Mickael Barzalona, riding in his first Derby, left it even later and was celebrating on Pour Moi before the colt had hit the front with a stride to go. Don’t expect Bentley to be that exuberant.

And while entries only closed on Monday for the Derby because of the Flat season’s delayed start as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, Bentley says the Classic had always been the plan for the progressive Max Vega.

“He’s a horse who, perhaps on paper, is certainly an outsider, but we know he will stay the distance – others have that question to answer – and every drop of race between now and Saturday afternoon will be welcome,” added Bentley.

“It has been the target ever since he won the Zetland and, to be honest, Ralph (Beckett) sets out routes for his horses from an early stage. The Zetland has been an important stepping stone to the Derby in the past, a 10-furlong race for two-year-olds, and it’s great to be part of it.”

Even the absence of crowds does not dampen Bentley’s sense of anticipation.

“It’s still the Derby and it will go down in history as the Derby,” said the rider with great emphasis before paying fulsome tribute to the British Horseracing Authority for ensuring the sport’s resumption last month.

“They have done an incredible job.”

Meanwhile, Redcar is counting the cost of damage to a section of railing destroyed by vandals.

“We’re all working flat out and we’re having a difficult time like lots of other businesses, our income has disappeared. Thankfully we’re back racing again, but we don’t have spare cash,” said general manager Amy Fair.

In other news, the BHA will decide tomorrow if next Tuesday’s meeting at Leicester can go ahead – a Covid-19 lockdown remains in place following a spike in cases.

However, the track did race 48 hours ago after being given clearance by the Government and local health officials.

And the new jumps season began at Southwell yesterday with a poignant minute’s silence for former Grand National-winning jockey Liam Treadwell, 34, who died last week.

An incident-packed opening race went to Nineohtwooneoh for trainer Paul Nicholls, jockey Harry Cobden and owner JP McManus.