Cannon ready to fire
John Gosden is hoping the decision to bypass the Vodafone Derby with Bronze Cannon can pay off at Royal Ascot on Friday.
The three-year-old heads the line-up for the King Edward VII Stakes following his two handicap wins this season.
He beat subsequent Derby fourth Doctor Fremantle on the first occasion at Newmarket in April and was barely troubled when following up at the same track last month.
Gosden and owner Anthony Oppenheimer initially deliberated over an Epsom run but opted to sidestep the Classic in favour of this Group Two event.
“He has been going very well and is in very good order,” Gosden said.
“We decided to miss the Derby because of the ground and because of the fact he would have been a 25-1 chance there, whereas he will be more like a 5-1 shot here.
“That was the view we took and, looking back, I think it was a good call as it looked a pretty hot Derby.
“They say the ground is as fast as it has been all week today, so he wouldn’t mind a bit of rain to take the sting out of it.”
Godolphin won the King Edward VII with subsequent St Leger hero Mutafaweq in 1999 and field Campanologist this time.
The Kingmambo colt won the Feilden Stakes for Mark Johnston earlier in the season before being snapped up by the boys in blue.
Campanologist finished a close third in the Lingfield Derby Trial on his Godolphin debut and trainer Saeed bin Suroor believes he is worthy of his place in the field.
“Campanologist has come out of his last run really well and I have been pleased with his work,” he told www.godolphin.com.
“It will be a tough race to win but he deserves to take his chance and the mile-and-a-half trip should suit him.”
The Kevin Prendergast-trained Moiqen appeared a lively outsider for the Derby following his Ballysax Stakes win at Leopardstown in April.
However, he then finished over seven lengths in arrears of subsequent Derby third Casual Conquest in the Derrinstown – but connections felt the Red Ransom colt may have been slightly under-par.
“He won well on his second-last start but he ran a slightly indifferent race in the Derrinstown last time,” admitted Angus Gold, racing manager to owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.
“Dermot Weld’s horse (Casual Conquest) was an impressive winner that day and went on to run well in the Derby so it was a good race.
“Moiqen was very quiet for a couple of days after the race and the jockey felt he wasn’t up to his best on the day.
“They are happy with him now though, so we will see what happens.”
