'He's a monster' - Derby entry King Of Steel excites after emphatic debut win

Wednesday: Nottingham

King Of Steel earned quotes of 50-1 for next year's Derby at Epsom after an emphatic debut success in the 1m½f maiden saw the winner described as "a monster" by his trainer Dave Loughnane.

The Amo Racing-owned juvenile dwarfed his rivals throughout the race before going clear under Adam Kirby to record a comfortable four-and-three-quarter-length success.

"As you can see from the race he's a monster, he's 17 hands and 600kg," Loughnane said. "That's the first time he's ever been off the bridle – he's always done things within himself.

"For such a big horse he's light on his feet, he's very athletic and he's very exciting. He's obviously going to want to go over a longer distance next year."

As well as having an entry for next year's Epsom Classic, King Of Steel is also entered for the Vertem Futurity at Doncaster on Saturday week and Loughnane said he's not ruling anything out.

"Everything is on the table at the moment," Loughnane added. "We've been patient with him and allowed him to come into himself naturally without forcing anything. He didn't have a hard race today, we'll see how is over the next five days and make a decision."

On the Derby, the trainer added: "He's got an entry but as I say, he's a very big horse. Epsom isn't probably tailor-made for him, but he's very well balanced. If he's good enough, he's good enough and if not there will be plenty of other options for him. He's very nice and there's a lot to look forward too."

The day got even better for Amo Racing, who went on to complete a treble courtesy of two winners trained by George Boughey, when Mr Alan took the 1m2f handicap before California Gem landed the 5f nursery.

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