The 2023 Betfred Derby: runner-by-runner guide, quotes and tip

Five pairs of brothers have won the Betfred Derby, but none since Persimmon (1896) and Diamond Jubilee (1900), who were sons of the great St Simon out of Ayr Gold Cup winner Perdita II.

The 123-year wait for another pair of super siblings may come to an end at Epsom on Saturday because Military Order is a leading fancy to follow the example of Adayar, his big brother, from two years ago. The latter remains in training, so there's a chance the Charlie Appleby-trained stablemates might even meet in public at some stage.

After 22 years of Derby despair for Godolphin - they had 33 beaten runners in this period - Appleby and the boys in blue are seeking a third triumph in the premier Classic since 2018. But standing in the way, as ever, is Aidan O'Brien, who has already trained a record eight Derby winners.

The shadow of his first victor, Galileo in 2001, is everywhere you look at Epsom. He went on to sire five Derby winners - New Approach, Ruler Of the World Australia, Anthony Van Dyck and Serpentine – and may yet make it six as Artistic Star represents him this year.

Meanwhile, his sons Australia, Frankel, Churchill and Ulysses are responsible for another eight of this year's runners, including Military Order (by Frankel). And two of his daughters – Rhododendron (Auguste Rodin) and Rain Goddess (San Antonio) – also fly the flag for the late, great sire of sires.

Here's a guide to all 14 runners. The big race is scheduled for 1.30pm and you can enjoy all the build-up and action on Racing TV.

Placed in four successive Group races since winning on his debut at Dundalk. He’s got plenty to find with Dubai Mile and Arrest (twice about six lengths behind him) and is no doubt down the pecking order at Ballydoyle, although we’ve yet to see what the son of Australia can do on quicker ground. Drawn widest of all in 14.

What they say - Aidan O'Brien: "He’s a straightforward horse. He ran in Chester, the ground got soft and we don’t think he’s a soft ground horse. He’s an Australia out of a War Front mare and that would all suggest better ground. We think he does stay, he’d be happy to go forward and be ridden handy. He’s experienced and we’ve been happy with him."

This son of Frankel is quite a unit and was running at Ffos Las just three runs ago (one of only two winners at the track for his powerful yard) but don’t let that put you off. He signed off last season with a head defeat at the hands of Dubai Mile in the Criterium De Saint-Cloud and resumed this year with a wide-margin success in the Chester Vase before enjoying a spin around Epsom this morning. He clearly copes well with heavy ground but that’s not to say he won’t be as effective on good going. There's no hint of rain at Epsom over the coming days, so connections of Arrest will be hoping clerk of the course Andrew Cooper is liberal with is watering. Regardless, he seems certain to carry a weight of public money as he will be Frankie Dettori's final ride in the great race after his glittering double for Team Gosden on Friday.

What they say - John Gosden: “He’s got the stamina, to do what he did at Chester in ground like that shows he’s got the stamina, no problem. Stamina is a requirement in this race, the same for the Kentucky Derby going a mile and a quarter for the Americans, they see it as a marathon. Stamina-wise you never really know until you go the mile and a half, you really don’t. Everybody thinks this is a downhill track, but it’s uphill, it rises 150 feet before you start going downhill, then you have a last section which climbs before the finish and it can catch a lot out on stamina.”

Belied odds of 16/1 when winning a mile maiden on soft ground at Nottingham in the autumn and confirmed himself a good prospect when winning a novice event on his return at Sandown over an extra quarter of a mile. A mile and a half seems certain to suit him on breeding (he’s by Galileo and has got siblings who have won over the trip) but he will almost certainly have to take his form to another level, The Gosden-trained Torito made him graft at Sandown and that horse holds no fancy engagements.

What they say - Ralph Beckett: “Artistic Star is a grand, straightforward horse. He was quite a late foal and he’s going to carry on developing through the year, but I sincerely hope and suspect that he’ll cope with the whole jamboree, as he’s a very hardy horse. Whether he’s good enough I don’t know, but Jeff likes his trainers to be on the front foot and he ran to a good figure at Sandown last time. He’s not a big horse and he’s well balanced, so he should go round Epsom all right.”

Impeccably bred and established himself as one of last season’s top two-year-olds, winning the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown (a race his trainer favours for his would-be Derby contenders) before scooping a Group One at the first attempt in the Vertem Futurity at Doncaster (form hard to assess because of the bad ground). There was plenty of chat about him being a Triple Crown candidate at the start of the season but such hopes evaporated when he sunk without trace in the 2000 Guineas. Excuses were offered and O’Brien’s confidence in him remains unshakeable, but I can’t have him on my mind after that dismal effort at Headquarters. The way he quickly stopped three out hinted at some kind of underlying issue.

What they say - Aidan O'Brien: “There were a lot of factors at Newmarket that we couldn’t control, but they happened and that was it, but we didn’t see anything to suggest we shouldn’t adhere to our original plan. That was always going to be the way, when we were running him over that shorter trip things had to happen. Every single beat had to go his way and obviously it was the complete opposite, every single beat went the opposite way. We were delighted he came out of the race so well, really. He’s a real beautiful moving horse, so the soft ground was always going to be a worry, and the trip was always going to be plenty short for him. He did need a clear run and when Little Big Bear got galloped into, he wiped out Ryan (Moore) and then Ryan ended up getting stuck in a pocket and there was no pace in the race. There’s so many things that went wrong, and we were going to fly out and that all changed, we couldn’t go two days out and we had to go the morning of (the race). All of those factors, either one of them could have been detrimental by themselves but it seemed they all landed on him on the day. He’s always been very special from day one, his movement and everything about him. Nothing has changed our minds about him, the Guineas went wrong and we put it down to a non-event for him.”

I’m sure Middleham Park would love to have a Derby runner but this would be a flight of fancy. He’s had his limits exposed since gaining early wins at Carlisle/Beverley and never figured when eighth in the Dante Stakes. The longer trip also an unknown, with inside draw no help.

He’s an imposing colt and progressed well as a two-year-old, being touched off by The Foxes in a muddling Royal Lodge before edging out Arrest in the Criterium De Saint-Cloud. Those efforts clearly put him firmly in the conversation and he was far from disgraced when fifth to Chaldean in the 2000 Guineas, when sticking to his task. He’s by Roaring Lion, who didn’t quite get home when third in the 2018 Derby, but you cannot imagine Dubai Mile not staying the trip to judge by his tenacious display over ten furlongs on deep ground in France in the autumn. His dam, Beach Bunny, was fully effective over a mile and a half (placed in Group company) and her sire was High Chaparral, the 2002 Derby winner. Dubai Mile has shown his form on a variety of ground and he looks underestimated in the market.

Was scheduled to return in the Dante but was a late withdrawal after getting restless in the stalls. The grey had dwarfed his rivals in the paddock when making his debut at Nottingham in October and made a big impression in the race, too, as he coasted to an easy win. He was fast-tracked to the Group One Vertem Futurity just ten days later but was unable to make much impact behind Auguste Rodin and company. He’s bred to stay well and it will be interesting to see what he can do this term, having been switched to the yard of Roger Varian.

As mentioned, he's a brother of Adayar, the 2021 winner. He’s got plenty going for him, impressing at Newbury and Lingfield this season having lost his maiden tag at Newmarket in the autumn. On the latter occasion, it was encouraging how well he coped with the tight track and he showed great resolve to beat Waipiro going away after that horse, previously an easy winner at Newmarket, had looked certain to overhaul him. He ticks plenty of boxes, although he's been easy enough to back this week - perhaps with punters cottoning on to the fact that his yard (usually like clockwork) has had just four winners from their past 40 runners, with 17 of those beaten at 5/2 or shorter. I hope you took the advice of my colleague, Jack Nicol, and backed him ante-post at 20-1 before he made his winning reappearance.

What they say - Charlie Appleby: “We’ve done nothing extra with him since his win at Lingfield and he has just been going through his usual routine. We have been pleased with his preparation and he has ticked every box. He is going into the race looking great. We know he will stay the trip and hopefully he should handle the track, but we all know in any of these races we need a bit of Lady Luck with us then we have half a chance.”

Supplemented to the line-up at a cost of £85,000 on Monday, it's little wonder they are rolling the dice because Passenger caught the eye of everyone when an unlucky third in the Dante. Richard Kingscote afterwards blamed himself for the colt not getting a clear crack of things, but he simply looked a tad unfortunate with his path blocked left and then right when he needed room to manoeuvre from two out. Eventually, the combination found some space, but the damage had been done. With a clear passage, he might well have won. This was a proper test against smart opposition and Passenger rose to the challenge, looking most comfortable in the higher grade just a month on from landing the Wood Ditton on his debut. Passenger’s grandsire is Galileo and his grand-dam is Light Shift, the 2007 Oaks winner.

What they say - Alan Cooper, owner's racing manager: “It was a good education for him at York, it was only his second run and he will have learnt a little more about racing. Hopefully that will stand him in good stead. The trip is the unknown as he has never been that far before, but he’s given us every indication he can do. We will not know for certain until he tries.”

Aidan O’Brien had suggested that the Dee Stakes winner would miss Epsom and instead run in the French Derby 24 hours later, but has revised his thinking. Beaten in two maidens last year, when relatively unfancied, he's looked an improved model this year, coping well with the demands of Chester, having earlier scored at Dundalk. That Chester form is not easy to assess, with the ground being bottomless and the runner-up hanging away his chance. Faster going shouldn't be an issue, at least on pedigree, but a mile and a half might be. Requires plenty more on form.

What they say - Aidan O'Brien: “He won his first race this year in Dundalk and then he went to Chester on soft ground. He’s never run this far but it will be interesting as well, his dam was second in the Irish Oaks and he’s by Dubawi so he’s a straightforward, honest horse too.”

Showed promise when beaten in two backend maidens last year and probably didn’t need to improve when getting off the mark on his return at Naas. He burst into the Epsom picture when taking the Derby Trial at Leopardstown in taking style by three lengths, being strong at the finish as befits a horse with 12-furlong winners in his pedigree. There’s substance to that Leopardstown form, too, with Up And Under, the runner-up, having previously been beaten half a length by White Birch in the Ballysax, and Proud And Regal, the third, having been a solid perfomer at two. The well-beaten fourth had also previously gone close in a Group Three in France. Sprewell has raced exclusively on heavy ground but I’m sure that’s been more by accident than design. Faster ground is an unknown but he’s described as a “beautiful mover” at home.

What they say - jockey Shane Foley: “He was very impressive in Leopardstown and has been pleasing us at home. The dream is definitely alive. Anything he did as a two-year-old was going to be a bonus and we were lucky to get a couple of runs into him. He has really developed into a proper staying three-year-old and is a good horse. If there is anyone that can have them primed and ready for the day, it’s Jessie. The trip should be fine for him – I think he’ll get a mile and a half no problem. To get a horse like him is what all the early mornings are about. It looks one of the most open Derbys in a long time and it’s great to have one in the mix.”

Has to command respect after winning the Dante at York – the pre-eminent Derby trial. It was a polished performance although you could argue the cards fell his way as he had only a neck to spare over White Birch, who came from well off the pace, with the unlucky-in-running Passenger third. The Foxes had previously hung right when runner-up in the Craven Stakes, something he hadn’t done when landing a muddling Royal Lodge last year. His dam stayed a mile and a half (though didn’t win over the trip) and I just wonder if ten furlongs will be the best trip for the Churchill colt.

What they say - Andrew Balding: “He was really good in the Dante. I thought he travelled like the best horse in the race and he finished off strong. He is not a horse that is going to win by large margins, but he is tough in the finish. The way he settled at York and the way he travelled and the way he finished his race gives us hope that he will stay a mile and a half. Epsom this year could be different to other years if we are led to believe what we read that there might be disruptions going on, but I think he is going to be less bothered about what is going on than other horses we have run in the race in the past.”

Offered little at 33/1 on his Kempton debut just before Christmas but he’s looked a different horse this year, winning a novice event in striking fashion at Newmarket’s Craven meeting before threatening to upstage Military Order at Lingfield (traded 1/5 in-running) only to succumb in the closing stages. He appeared to get outstayed that day and the bad news for his connections is that Epsom will provide a stiffer test. That Lingfield race, not run at an end-to-end gallop, was run in a time of just under 2min 28 sec, whereas a typical Derby winner will take another eight seconds or so, usually in a race where there are no hiding places. Also, Waipiro has looked something of an excitable character and the hurly burly of the Surrey Downs will expose any flaws in his temperament.

There have been only four grey winners of the Derby, and not once since Airborne in 1945. In Phil Bull’s annual “Best Horses Of 1946” (a precursor to Timeform’s annual Racehorses) the author wrote: “To say this result surprised practically everyone would be an understatement: mystified would be the word”. Airborne had to improve by about 21lb to prevail, but White Birch doesn’t have such a gulf to bridge after splitting The Foxes and Passsenger in the Dante, narrowly failing to come from last to first. He had previously also come from well off the pace when landing the Ballysax Stakes. He will be a hostage to fortune if again being played late but he’s more than earned his chance, making light of the fact that the dam’s side of his pedigree is all about speed.

Military Order looks a worthy favourite, while Dubai Mile, Sprewell and White Birch all have each-way claims at double-figure digits. The one who makes most each-way appeal is DUBAI MILE because of his versatility regards the ground. His exploits as a two-year-old now read better than they did at the time and he ran a perfectly respectable trial in the Guineas. The extra half-mile should show him in a much better light.