It’s Day 1 of the Derby Festival at Epsom on Friday and the meeting kicks off with a bang. There are two Group 1 races on the card and some fascinating handicap action. Five of the races are live on ITV so we’ve selected three outsiders at huge prices that can outrun their odds.
One of these is a 50-1 Aidan O’Brien runner and you should never underestimate the great man. We’ve also picked out 20-1 and 14-1 shots in the competitive handicap races. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Two Tempting is a consistent sort who tends to run his race more often than not. He was denied by the tiniest of margins when second at Kempton last time out and he deserves to get another win under his belt. Beaten by a neck off a 1lb higher mark at Sandown in July, he looks capable of being in the mix at the business end of the race. Georgia Dobie takes 3lb off here and that could well make the difference.
Cadillac won at Group 3 level when trained in Ireland by Jessica Harrington, suggesting that running a big race in this handicap should be well within his capabilities. He wasn’t beaten far, when third in a Listed race at Goodwood on stable debut last September. It has to be said that he was poor at Newmarket last time out but he should improve for the run and the return to 1m2f. The handicapper dropped him 2lb for that, which will only aid his cause.
Red Riding Hood is probably better than her third-place finish at Naas last time suggests. Aidan O’Brien’s horses weren’t running very well at the time and we should see a much stronger performance here. Her trainer won this race with a 50-1 shot back in 2015 and I for one wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up bang in there at the finish.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.