His perceived inexperience saw him ‘poke fun’ at top contender English King before taking a spare ride on the 50-1 outsider Khalifa Sat.
While the Andrew Balding-trained vehicle ironically beat the English King ridden by Frankie Dettori in the race for second place, Marquand never felt competitive.
This was because Aidan O’Brien’s supposed frontman Serpentine was so far removed from his rivals under Emmet McNamara that he was never caught.
However, this experience is also instructive when it comes to Marquand’s rise, not least the strength of his association with Yorkshire-born coach William Haggas and his globetrotting superstar Addeybb.
It showed him how to cope with the fickle destinies of racing with quiet determination and dignity, as well as helping him get the attention of O’Brien’s son, Joseph, another top-notch coach who didn’t hesitate to book Marquand for the winning trip. from St Leger in Doncaster the Galileo Chrome.
It means he rides Youth Spirit in today’s Cazoo Derby. Like Khalifa Sat, it is owned by Ahmad Al Shaikh and trained by Balding as he seeks to win the blue band race 60 years after his father, Ian, saddled Mill Reef, one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time, to an iconic victory at the Epsom Downs.
Youth Spirit heads to Epsom with a dominating win at Chester Oaks and is one of the few horses with proven form over a mile and a half; the question is whether the foal’s rivals have done enough to catch up.
“The entire Balding family, everything they do stems from the legacy that Ian Balding has created and I have the privilege of riding for them in the Derby on such a special anniversary,” said Marquand. The Yorkshire Post.
“It is an amazing story and Andrew is a very effective coach. It is also special that they ask me to accompany them because I spent a month at Kingsclere (the Balding stables) when I was 15 years old. I was ready to join them when I left school, but ended up at (Richard) Hannon’s. To be honest, they haven’t had many opportunities to compete, they keep everything faithful and very close. “
This explains why Marquand got so phlegmatic about last year’s Derby. When asked what he had learned from the royal race, he was blunt: “Not much.”
But, pressed on how the preparation helped him as a jockey, he was more forthcoming. “It’s the game we’re in,” Marquand reflected. “It’s a competitive sport and days like that remind you that it is.
“It’s a great sport that shows you that everything can turn in your favor, even when you think it can’t. It’s a pretty good life lesson. But I probably won a St Leger because they played me in the Derby. “
Marquand’s national campaign has certainly hit top speed this week after tripling at Windsor, Leicester and Chelmsford, though he had no luck at Ripon.
He’s also eager to ride Champion Stakes hero Addeybb potentially at Royal Ascot if it rains in the meantime.
Even at this early stage in the 23-year-old’s career, he realizes that few future victories will overshadow the excitement when Addeybb won a second consecutive Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Australia in April.
“The hoops and loops to jump into the enclosure, and then get the job done,” said Marquand, who turned down the opportunity to ride Addeybb at a gallop this week because he wanted to spend time meeting some potential future stars in Haggas. yard.
But this certainly gives him the confidence that he can win on the biggest stages of all, especially after Youth Spirit’s victory at Chester.
“To be fair, it took a good start to win the lap of Chester and its tight corners,” he added. “She will need the race of her life, and if she is good enough to win a Derby, time will tell.”
Meanwhile, Snowfall, winner of last month’s Musidora Stakes in York, surprised her Cazoo Oaks rivals by triumphing by a distance in yesterday’s Classic.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by Frankie Dettori, she was a record 16-body winner of Mystery Angel for the Barton-upon-Humber-based syndicate Nick Bradley Racing.
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-04 17:04:41
