Rachel Candelora's top tips for Wednesday: Great Shot Sam can hit target

Greetings from the USA. Just a week and a half to go to the running of the Kentucky Derby and, as is always the case at this time, trainers with Derby hopefuls awake nervously every morning.

Any setback now and it is goodbye to your Louisville hopes and dreams, as unfortunately Jeremy Noseda (Gronkowski) and Rudolphe Brisset (Quip) have discovered in the past few days.

This weekend I am turning my attention to jump racing over here where I’ll be working at the prestigious Queen’s Cup in North Carolina where the five races (three hurdles, a timber race, and a jumpers’ bumper) are worth more than $150,000.

I am a great believer in previous course form at Epsom and Dee Ex Bee has not only won here but is the only horse in this classy field that has run at the track before.

The Mark Johnston-trained son of Farhh holds a Derby entry and gets the assistance of James Doyle for this assignment.

Dee Ex Bee was placed twice in Listed company as a juvenile and, although it is possible that a couple of his rivals here may improve past him in the future, at this stage of the season he sets a reasonably high standard for the others to aim at.

It could be a big day for trainer Andrew Balding and I am hoping he can bag at least an across the card double at Epsom and Lingfield.

Contango can get the ball rolling in the City and Suburban Handicap, a race which his trainer has won twice in the past three years.

Four-year-olds also have a tremendous record in this race (the age group has won eight times in the past decade) and Contango looks an unexposed gelding who it will pay to follow this season.

It was only a minor race I saw him win at Newmarket in July but I liked the look of him and he may have been slightly unlucky not to maintain his unbeaten record when second at the Shergar Cup in August.

I like how he is dropping back to 10f for his first start of the 2018 campaign – two of his wins have been over this trip.

I am a big fan of this Balding filly and we supported her in this column when she became the first winning prodigy of Shackleford in the UK at Newcastle in November.

Her trainer has found a good starting point for her three-year-old career/handicap debut as I think that Great Shot Sam will be better suited to the tighter turning track of Lingfield and with her early speed should be able to get a good position from post position 3.

She is relatively unexposed and hopefully like most Shackleford progeny she will get better with age.

Harry Fry may have a mare to follow through the upcoming summer jumping campaign in the shape of Cockney Wren.

She won a bumper here at Taunton this time last year and she went on to finish a credible third in a Listed race at Kempton on her hurdling debut in October.

Following a disappointing effort at Ludlow in November she has had a wind op and should be able to boss this field as a stepping stone to much bigger things.