Oisin Murphy confident Kameko can do the double

CHAMPION jockey Oisin Murphy is confident Kameko has the class to win the Investec Derby.

Trained by Andrew Balding whose father Ian saddled Mill Reef to Derby glory in 1971, Kameko won the 2000 Guineas last month over a mile. However the extra four furlongs at Epsom, part of the Qipco British Champions Series, is the big unknown.

Like Roaring Lion who was third in 2018 for Murphy, he’s sired by Kitten’s Joy whose progency normally excel over a mile and a quarter. “That is the big question and the one I’ve been asked all week,” says Murphy.

“We just don’t know if he’ll stay. When he won the Vertem Futurity at two last year I thought his best trip might be 10 furlongs, while he wasn’t stopping when he won the Guineas. But we don’t know and we won’t know until the final quarter mile in the Derby.

“What I do know is that his temperament gives him a chance of staying. He can be feisty in his box at home, wanting to get on with things, but as soon as you sit on him he’s relaxed and he’s very calm. The way he races in the early stages gives him a chance of getting the trip.”

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