The Queen may have found a live contender for the Epsom Derby in 2023, with the picture due to become clearer over the weekend.
Desert Hero, trained by William Haggas in Newmarket, is declared to run in the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown on Saturday.
The race is known for attracting stars of the future, with the winners often going on to have very impressive careers, many running in the Epsom Derby.
The most recent horse to win both the Solario Stakes and the Epsom Derby was Masar in 2018.
Last year’s Solario winner was Reach For The Moon – a horse owned by The Queen, who for many months was a live Derby hope for Her Majesty.
Desert Hero is currently the 5/2 favourite for Saturday’s race, meaning punters expect the two-year-old colt to put up a good performance.
Last year’s winner, Reach For The Moon, suffered a minor injury over the winter which meant he missed his engagement at the 2022 Derby.
He was for many months the antipost favourite, after putting up an impressive performance in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster following his Solario success.
If Desert Hero wins the Solario impressively, he too is likely to head to Doncaster to run in the Champagne Stakes. If all goes according to plan, this is the point he will hit the public consciousness.
The similarities between Desert Hero and Reach For The Moon do not end there. Both are sired by Sea The Stars, a Derby winner himself, and a horse considered by many to be the greatest of all time.
Desert Hero is currently a 33/1 shot to win the 2023 Derby. So far, he has only raced once in a maiden at Haydock – a race which he won impressively.
The Derby is the one major race that The Queen has not managed to win, and be in no doubt, it is the race she would most like to win.
In her long racing career, The Queen’s horses have finished second, third and fifth in the race, with the top prize just eluding her.
Will 2023 be the year The Queen finally wins the Derby? It it a stretch, and as we saw last year, so much can go wrong. But for now at least, the dream is alive.
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