Gosden out to give Marlowe perfect Derby rehearsal

In a spring of inconclusive Derby trials, the Dee Stakes outcome at Chester on Friday was at least clear-cut. The winner will not be going to Epsom – Not So Sleepy, who made the running in desperate conditions to deny Disegno by a short-head, is a gelding and therefore ineligible.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained Smuggler’s Cove, it seems fair to assume, is about as likely to grace the premier Classic after trailing in last of four, all at sea on the ground. Ballydoyle’s sighting shots, with the exception on Hans Holbein in the Chester Vase on Thursday, have been proving more miss than hit, so the weekend’s Derby trials might be expected to take on even greater significance.

But the one-time Derby favourite, John F Kennedy, misses Leopardstown’s Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Stakes Sunday to wait for York next week, leaving the previously unheralded O’Brien pair Cradle Mountain and Order Of St George to deputise, while Ballydoyle’s representative in Lingfield’s Derby Trial Stakes on Saturday, Kilimanjaro, might well be running as a pacemaker for John Gosden’s Christophermarlowe, who will carry owner Michael Tabor’s first silks.

Gosden holds a strong hand in the Derby with the favourite Jack Hobbs bound for York’s Dante Stakes next Thursday, when the trainer could also run Disegno’s Newmarket conqueror, Golden Horn.

But of the unbeaten trio it is for Christophermarlowe that Gosden has reserved a bespoke Epsom preparation, with two wins at the course and now a tryout at close to the full Classic distance round Lingfield’s similar downhill, left-hand bend.

The US-bred’s main rival may be Luca Cumani’s Bartholomew Fair, but the trainer admitted: “We’re going very much into unknown territory because it’s a mile and a half. He’s not entirely bred to get the trip.” Neither are Magic Dancer and Red Tornado, and the main danger to Christophermarlowe would be deteriorating ground.

Lingfield’s Oaks Trial is also likely to provide an odds-on favourite in O’Brien’s Wedding Vow, whose second at Gowran Park 13 days ago has been made to look all the better by the winner Legatissimo’s subsequent victory in the 1,000 Guineas. Improvement for the step up to this extended 11 furlongs seems all but guaranteed.

Among the principal home opposition is the unbeaten Affileo, whose trainer, Daniel Kubler, said: “We always thought she would be a filly that would go on turf over 10 or 12 furlongs. She is very well balanced and should be fine on the track.”

Whether the daughter of Teofilo will be suited by the easy surface is a different matter and Toujours L’Amour looks a strong alternative. William Haggas’s daughter of Authorized made an impressive winning debut on the Rowley Mile last autumn, overtaking her field to catch Western Hymn’s near relative Moonlight Sonata deep inside the final furlong. Toujours L’Amour was subsequently fifth to the smart Irish Rookie and, out of a mare who won a Listed contest at Lingfield over 13 furlongs, should finish more strongly than anything here.