Olympic champion Todd dreaming of Epsom Derby glory with Tasman Bay
Sir Peter Vela-owned colt goes on trial for Classic date
Sir Mark Todd, who reached the summit as an event rider when striking gold at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, is dreaming about the most prestigious prize in Flat racing with recent Newcastle winner Tasman Bay (Le Havre).
New Zealander Todd, a giant in the eventing sphere who participated at seven Olympics, winning six medals, trained for a short spell in his homeland before heading to the UK and taking out a licence in 2019.
He has hit something of a purple patch this year with six winners from 29 runners and they include Tasman Bay, who is rated a 66-1 chance for the Epsom Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) in June.
His credentials for that esteemed prize will be tested at Newbury tomorrow when he takes his chance in a conditions race over a mile and a quarter.
“He only had the one run at Newbury as a two-year-old and was a great big, raw-boned horse then and it was heavy ground, so we didn’t really get much idea, but he ran okay and was sixth,” Todd said.
“We went to Newcastle and ran into King Vega, who was rated 106, and won quite comfortably. Whether King Vega’s rated higher than his ability or he didn’t run to it, I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out more at Newbury.
“We’ll take our horse along one step at a time. He’s a lovely horse by Le Havre out of a Galileo mare, so he’s bred to go over ground.
“He’s got a massive stride and works like a horse who wants to get over more ground. We’re entered at Newbury and I see there are quite a few with Derby entries, and, although it’s not a recognised trial, it looks like it’s going to be quite strong.
“We’ll have more of an idea after where we are.”
Tasman Bay has plenty of Epsom pluses in his pedigree as his dam Purely Priceless is by 2001 Derby hero Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), who has sired a record-breaking five winners of the great race, while her mother is Peeping Fawn (Danehill), who was second in the Epsom Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) in 2007.
The three-year-old runs in the colours of Sir Peter Vela, whose Eminent (Frankel) was a close fourth in the 2017 Derby before heading to Australia where he finished second in the Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) of 2019. He subsequently took up stallion duties at Brighthill Stud.
“Sir Peter is an amazing supporter of racing and has been an amazing supporter of mine,” added Todd.
“He’s won big races all round the world, the Caulfield Cup, the Melbourne Cup, and when I was training in New Zealand we just missed out on winning a Group 1 for him there, so it’d be pretty amazing if we could do one over here.”
The Wiltshire-based Todd, who has a string of 12 and recorded two top-level victories in New Zealand, went on: “The horses seem to be running well. It’s only on the all-weather at the moment and in fairly low-rated races, but at least they are running well. We’re a small team, but hoping we might get a few more through the door if we have a few more winners.”
Asked if Tasman Bay could be a flagship horse, he replied: “We live in hope and the way he won at Newcastle was quite impressive, even if you don’t know about the form at the moment.”