Ralph Beckett: latest on my Group One contenders at Epsom

“I was asked after the Arc last year (which he won with Bluestocking) by a French journalist if it was the race I wanted to win above all else and my response was that it was only behind the Derby.

“I stand by that. I think if you are an Englishman and you train racehorses winning the Derby is, and hopefully always will be, the summit.

“Few people get to do it and if it ever came off, never mind this year but in any year, it would be more than I ever could have hoped for when I started out training. That is for sure.

“Pride Of Arras has trained well since the Dante and worked well on the grass at home last week. I am happy with the way he is training and the way he looks – I think he has tightened up for the Dante and he is on good terms with himself.

“We are going there with our best foot forward, that’s for sure.

“In the Dante, I thought it was a good effort from Damysus (the runner-up, who also lines up on Saturday) as well. The Dante was a slightly falsely run race but to say that suited Pride Of Arras more than anybody else is presumptive I think.

“Given his pedigree, he has plenty of his speed and he has more speed than I thought he would have, having trained his dam and brothers and sisters. I never expected him to be as quick as he is, which is a positive as far as we are concerned. He is a very well-balanced horse and his half-sister and half-brother both won around Epsom, so that gives us significant encouragement as well.

“All of that is positive and he is taking his preparation very well. I am looking forward to Saturday. The ground is not an issue – he has a soft ground pedigree and it has been a surprise to us that he handles fast ground as well as he does.

“I can’t worry about the draw because I can’t change it. We have been here before with stall two. Whatever way you view the race, Westover (in 2022) didn’t get the clearest shot at it from that position, so my heart sank when we drew that!"

“Going into the winter, I always thought this was the horse most likely to show up in the Derby. That form with Delacroix is obviously very good and he was very inexperienced that day – it was only his third start, he had only been around Beverley with a good run behind Ruling Court prior to that.

“He is a very well-balanced horse and very light on his feet. I have felt it likely that he will be suited by Epsom. With regards to trip, he is by Ghaiyyath who got it well out of Pure Art who I trained and was a half-sister to Romsdal, who also got it well.

“I have no concerns about trip or track for him. It was pretty soft the day he was second in the Autumn Stakes (behind Delacroix), when he came up the Rowley Mile well. He is a very straightforward customer. The reason he didn’t make a trial is that he galloped away from home in mid-April and pulled a muscle at the back of his ribs. We were unable to train him for two weeks so he has done pretty well to get here.

“I am delighted to have two runners in the race and I am delighted he is one of them.

“With stall 16, I wasn’t aware that there have been no winners from there but I think The Great Gatsby ran very well from there a few years back (he was runner-up in 2003). So, 16 concerns me less than two."

“I think she should come forward for the run at Newbury. I felt it was a good starting point, but she was still pretty green through the race. I liked the way she went through the line.

“You would think the step up in trip will probably be in her favour. There are stamina influences on her page, but I have slight reservations in the fact that Regardez (her dam) didn’t stay a mile and a half, she got a mile and a quarter well.

“This filly is a slightly different character and is more laid-back than her mother was, but we are taking it on trust.

“Look Here winning the Oaks when we were at Whitsbury is a big part of what is going on here now. It’s been 17 years and it’s been a big joy to train the family – it’s been a privilege.

“Julian and Sarah (Richmond-Watson) are exceptional breeders, they’ve never had more than six broodmares and to come up with not just Look Here but Remarquee, Scope and Kinross in the space of 15 years from six mares is extraordinary. Hopefully this filly is the next cab off the rank.”

“She’s not much different different now, she’s filled out (over the winter). She was always a big girl and in that sense not much has changed,” said Beckett, speaking on a Zoom call hosted by the Jockey Club on Thursday.

“This looked a good starting place for her. It looks a deep renewal and she’ll have to go a bit, but she’s been away for gallops a couple of times this spring and they’ve gone well, so I couldn’t be happier.

“She’s been off since the St Leger so that is nine months. Inevitably she’ll need the match practice, but this leads us into the year.

“I had intended to start her in the Lancashire Oak, so this is a month earlier than we imagined.

“I’d like to get her in against her own sex at some point. The Yorkshire Oaks is the obvious one but France Galop, in their wisdom, moved the Prix Vermeille so there is only 17 days between the only two fillies’ only Group Ones over a mile and a half in Europe, which makes life somewhat complicated. Those two races are high on her agenda.”