Ancient Wisdom 'showing the right signs and soft ground will enhance his chances' says Charlie Appleby as money arrives for Derby hope

Charlie Appleby is confident that the prospect of slower ground at Epsom on Saturday will only enhance the chances of his Betfred Derby contender Ancient Wisdom, who on Wednesday was just half a point off favouritism for the world famous Classic.

Appleby's "live contender" was down to 7-2 with Unibet behind Ballydoyle stablemates City Of Troy and Los Angeles at 3-1 to build on a productive juvenile campaign that began with wins at Haydock and Newmarket and a third behind Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Rosallion at Ascot in July. 

After a break, Ancient Wisdom returned in the Autumn Stakes on soft ground at Newmarket in October, winning by three and three-quarter lengths, before following up on heavy ground in the Group 1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster. 

He was then sent off the 7-4 favourite for his seasonal reappearance in the Dante at York but was no match for the William Haggas-trained Economics, who has not been supplemented for the Derby. 

"Ancient Wisdom is a Group 1 winner having won the Futurity at Doncaster in very soft conditions," said Appleby, who is bidding for his third Derby after scoring with Masar (2018) and Adayar (2021). "I was happy with his reappearance in the Dante. There was a good winner there but I felt there was going to be plenty of improvement from Ancient Wisdom and he has shown all the right signs since.

"We know he relishes the slower ground and with the forecast being the way it is, we'll hopefully encounter that on Saturday, which should enhance his chances. William [Buick] sat on him on Wednesday and the whole team are delighted with how he's progressed since his first three-year-old start. It's an honour to be involved in a race like the Derby and we believe we're going there with a live contender."

Charlie Appleby: trainer of Futurity Trophy winner Ancient WisdomCredit: Edward Whitaker

With the ground at Epsom described as soft, good to soft in places on Wednesday, there has been support for Ancient Wisdom, who was available at 7-1 earlier this week. The Aidan O'Brien-trained City Of Troy has drifted in the betting and is now the 3-1 joint-favourite with several firms alongside stablemate Los Angeles.

"I moved the description back from soft to soft, good to soft in places on Wednesday morning," said Epsom's clerk of the course Andrew Cooper on Wednesday afternoon. "As expected, we've been dry all day so far and it's expected to stay dry for the remainder of today. There's been an improving picture in the last 24 hours but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

"It still looks as though there's a greater risk of showers on Thursday from reasonably early in the morning. Most forecasters are pitching the volume for the day at somewhere around 5mm – they think we'll be doing very well to miss the rain completely.

"If we saw 5mm, the ground will go backwards in the short term but it's not a dramatic volume, and I still think we'd be more in the good to soft territory on Friday. 

"We're going to have to see something at the upper end tomorrow to stay meaningfully soft. Looking at the outlook, I think it will be a touch better on Saturday. It will be nice racing ground but it might be on the slower side to some degree."

Four Pricewise winners last weekend!

Ace tipster Tom Segal was on a hot run of form last weekend as he nailed 9-2 and 3-1 winners on Saturday before correctly advising the Group 1 double at the Curragh on Sunday thanks to 11-4 Fallen Angel in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and White Birch at 15-8 in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.

He will be back in the hotseat for the Betfred Oaks and Derby this weekend. Don’t miss his expert advice by signing up to Racing Post Members’ Club – and use code MEMBERS24 to get 50% off your first three months!

Betfred Derby (4.30 Epsom, Saturday)

Sponsor: 3 City Of Troy, 7-2 Los Angeles, 4 Ancient Wisdom, 6 Ambiente Friendly, 12 Dancing Gemini, Macduff, 20 bar.

Read more:

'How’s a little horse like that going to win?' - Derby heroes have their say on whether City Of Troy can bounce back   

Who will win the 2024 Betfred Derby at Epsom based on previous trends? 

City Of Troy on the drift for Derby as stablemate Los Angeles joins him as favourite 

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