FRANKIE Dettori has said Tom Marquand’s time will come after the Italian ‘jocked-off’ the youngster in the Investec Derby.
English King – the 3-1 market leader for the Epsom showpiece – will now be partnered by Dettori despite Marquand partnering the horse for his two wins.
Trainer Ed Walker and owner Bjorn Nielsen made the move and faced some criticism in quarters for the decision.
But Dettori is not bothered by the noise made in some quarters and said it’s happened to him a number of times.
He said: “Losing big rides happened a lot to me when I was young. Tom is 22 – I’m sure he’ll have plenty of other chances in his career, but I was just delighted to get the ride.
“I’m going to go and ride him this week. I can only go on what I’ve seen – but he was impressive at Newcastle last year, and very impressive at Lingfield.
The switch was made as trainer John Gosden will not have a runner in this year’s Derby – a very rare occurence.
Dettori added: “He’s interesting. On the plus side, he went round Lingfield like it was a flat track. You would think Epsom is quite similar, so that is a big tick in the box. Anthony Van Dyck won the race last year, and Anapurna won the Oaks trial.
“I’ve had some good success for Bjorn Nielsen with Stradivarius. He approached me when he realised John Gosden didn’t have anything for the Derby.
“He had a quiet word in my ear to see if I would accept the ride, and I said I was all over it. He looks a good horse from what I’ve seen, so it would be my pleasure.
“I spoke to Ed Walker. He’s pleased with the horse; I’ll ride him this week – so off we go.
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