Richard Hoiles: there are enough positives for racing to consider a July Derby

Richard Hoiles has suggested racing ought to consider a radical rejig to the calendar that would see the Oaks and Derby run this Saturday at Epsom with the Eclipse taking place at Sandown the following day.

The ITV commentator was speaking to the Racing Post for a major feature in Sunday's newspaper in which several leading figures from the sport were asked whether it is time to rethink the structure of the Flat season, chiefly in light of the Derby's declining fortunes and the apparent success of last year's switch to a July date.

Sea The Stars in 2009 was the last Derby winner to finish the year having recorded the best worldwide Racing Post Rating of the season. The last ten had a peak RPR that was a cumulative 98lb below the champions in their given year compared to 50lb and 54lb in the two previous ten-year periods. Anthony Van Dyck is the only Derby winner since 2016 to have won another race.

While stressing he is not necessarily an advocate of a July Derby, Hoiles felt there was a case worth assessing.

"I love history more than most, but tradition for tradition's sake shouldn't be the sole barrier to change," he said.

"I do think the idea of moving the Derby to July has some merit. It brings into the equation the Royal Ascot and Goodwood contests, and if you had the Guineas in May and the Derby in July, a trainer would also have two months in which to teach a horse to stretch out, helped by a ten-furlong stepping stone.

"The current positioning of the Irish Derby shows that having a Derby in that position in the calendar isn't a massive negative. The Irish Derby would suffer from a clash, as would the Eclipse, but I would have the Derby and the Oaks both on the Saturday with the Eclipse then run on the Sunday.

Richard Hoiles: 'No one fundamental reason for the idea to be shot down straight away'Credit: Edward Whitaker

"A July Derby would give trainers longer to establish horses in racing's consciousness. Following the Grand National it's always hard for the media to produce a population of 40 Flat horses that nobody has heard of, 38 of which will quickly disappear. By widening the window between the Guineas and the Derby, and making more relevance of some of the trials – perhaps with incentives linked to them – the public might have a better understanding of the horses."

Hoiles added: "All of these points make me think there are enough positives to contemplate it. I'm not saying I'm an advocate of a July Derby but there doesn't seem to be one fundamental reason for the idea to be shot down straight away."

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