Lord North is the star attraction as he kicks off his 2023 campaign in the £100,000 G3 BetUK Winter Derby (2.05pm) at Lingfield Park on Saturday, February 25.
The three-time G1 winner chased home Alenquer in a top-quality renewal of the 10-furlong contest 12 months ago, with Lord North subsequently dead-heating with Panthalassa in the G1 Dubai Turf and Alenquer taking out the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Lord North, who heads three runners for John & Thady Gosden, has been sidelined since finishing a close fourth behind Vadeni in the G1 Eclipse at Sandown Park in July.
The seven-year-old’s jockey Robert Havlin said: “Lord North seems really well. I have ridden him in his last two pieces of work and I think he is a little sharper than he was coming into the race last year.
“We are using this as a prep for the Dubai Turf again but I am hoping for a real big run. He just feels that bit more switched on than he was this time last year.
“We took him for an away day at Chelmsford recently. He did not gallop but had a nice canter around and that will have done him good mentally more than anything.
“He is a seven-year-old now and can be quite lazy at home but his work has certainly been a bit brighter. He is the best horse in the race by far and hopefully he can show that.”
The Gosdens have a strong hand as the stable chases a fourth BetUK Winter Derby in five years, with Lord North joined by 2021 victor Forest Of Dean and Harrovian.
South African jockey Collen Storey made the headlines after guiding Forest Of Dean to a decisive victory in a Fast-Track Qualifier at Newcastle in January, a race in which Harrovian was third.
Storey, who moved to Newmarket in October 2021 having ridden 222 winners in his homeland, said: “Forest Of Dean is very well in himself. I sat on him again this morning and he had a bit of freshness in him. I actually think he has come on a bit from Newcastle.
“Rab [Havlin] rode him quite handy when they won the Winter Derby a couple of years ago, whereas at Newcastle I dropped him in and he flew when I pulled him out. It was impressive the way he quickened up.
“I won a Stakes race in Zimbabwe on a filly called Raven Girl and have placed in a few other Stakes races as well. It is hard to get rides in these big races and I am very excited for this opportunity. With a bit of luck, hopefully we can pull it off.
“After I won on Forest Of Dean at Newcastle, I said my aim is to ride a Group winner over here. If I could tick that off, I would like to see what the year ahead is able to give me.”
The BetUK Winter Derby is a Fast-Track Qualifier for the £200,000 Easter Classic, with the form of last season’s Finals Day highlight represented by runner-up Tyrrhenian Sea (Roger Varian).
Lucander makes a quick reappearance for George Baker after winning a local G2 in Bahrain last week, while Andrew Balding will be hoping a gelding operation can rejuvenate G3 winner Foxes Tales.
William Knight’s all-weather specialist King Of The South and John Ryan’s Pistoletto complete the field.
Elsewhere on the card, prolific sprinter Tone The Barone bids for his 10th all-weather success for Stuart Williams in the Listed BetUK Hever Sprint (1.30pm) over five furlongs.
A competitive line-up also features John Quinn’s rapidly improving filly Miss Nay Never and David O’Meara’s Alligator Alley, who won three races on the spin earlier in the season.
The Robert Cowell-trained Arecibo, third in the G2 Temple Stakes last year, makes his first all-weather appearance since 2019, while Karl Burke’s Exalted Angel has a first-time visor after finishing a close third in the Listed BetUK Kachy Stakes.
Look Out Louis (Julie Camacho) and last year’s winner One Night Stand (Scott Dixon) are other names to note.
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