OTHER SPORT

MYTHICAL KID HEADS GODOLPHIN DERBY CHARGE

Admiralofthefleet and Mick Kinane win the Dee Stakes at Chester this afternoon

Friday May 11,2007

By The Scout

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THE Vodafone Derby countdown, 22 days to go, is under way and the record this season of the first five in the betting reads four losses and one, the favourite Authorized, unraced.

We've seen Authorized galloping before racing on the Rowley Mile, and he wasn't that impressive. Surely there's room at the top?

That's where Sheik Mohammed's elite operation should be and those wallowing in Godolphin's current trough should desist.

British racing is the richer for the Sheikh's patronage though his brainchild is currently stood in the corner with a dunce's hat on.

Godolphin had no Derby runner last year: they have 15 entries going into the next week's forfeit stage and it's getting desperate that something emerges from the trials.

Mythical Kid steps forward for tomorrow's totesport Trial at Lingfield on what could be a defining day for Godolphin's season.

Folk Opera may continue their revival in the Oaks Trial while Blue Ksar can make it a treble in consecutive races in the CPG Stakes.

Mythical Kid cost £1.4m. He was short head second in the Horris Hill and has Kid Mambo and Hearthstead Maison to beat to guarantee a Derby berth.

Folk Opera won a Newbury for Michael Jarvis last month and was then gathered in by Godolphin.

Unfazed, Jarvis opposes Folk Opera with Lord Harrington's homebred Sunlight; there'll be red faces if Jarvis comes out on top.

One has to wonder how Blue Ksar has met better fancied stable companions the last three outings yet only once, and that was as near as dammit, did he fail to come out on top. Tomorrow Blue Ksar has only Sir Michael
Stoute's Hard Top to beat.

Next Thursday's Dante, where Authorized should reappear, is traditionally our strongest trial. Godolphin field Dijeer who beat Mythical Kid last year - when Dijeer was trained by Jarvis.

Aidan O'Brien has 17 Dante entries and four of the six in Sunday's Derrinstown Stud Trial Stakes at Leopardstown.

Having picked up one Derby trial at Chester on Thursday with Soldier Of Fortune, today's Dee Stakes also fell to Ballydoyle with Admiralofthefleet.

Mick Kinane is getting a tad repetitive with his post trials-assessments - "He's in the mix" doesn't give much away.

It's a very rich mix though. Admiralofthefleet was beaten first time up this season, as was Motivator's brother Macarthur but that may not stop that one overturning Ballysax placings with Mores Wells in the Derrinstown always a trustworthy Derby trial with Sinndar, Galileo and High Chaparral going on to Epsom glory in recent years.