Epsom Racecourse: Preview and Tips for Tonight’s Seven-Race Meeting
1 July 2026
Always a competitive track, there are seven races at Epsom this evening, with a maiden and six handicap races on the card.
Read on for a preview of and tips for the Epsom card, brought to you by BOYLE Sports, who have all the horse racing odds.
We kick off with an apprentice handicap run over 10 furlongs (17.20). Toby Moore, son of legendary jockey Ryan Moore, claims the most weight still, giving his ride – Oj Lifestyle – seven pounds. Imperial Cult, ridden by Jack Callan, seeks a hat-trick, which might be tricky on this higher new mark, while Bobacious looks likely to appreciate the better ground today. With Mason Paetel in the saddle, he looks a possibility here and has won at this track before.
Up next is a seven-furlong two-year-olds’ maiden (17.50). There are two newcomers here; Whiskey Galore and Bullrider, but this isn’t an easy track to debut at. It might, therefore, be more worthwhile to consider the chances of those with previous race experience. Shemiyla Star handled Pontefract first time out, which is promising for Epsom, while Foscarini might improve for the better ground here.
Race three is a six-furlong handicap (18.22). Four of the runners won their latest races, and have all gone up in the weights as a result. It could prove to be Goldwork’s time to shine here, on a workable mark and at a track he ought to handle.
A mile and a half handicap follows (18.57). Central Command seeks a hat-trick on a new high mark, while Alma Latina steps into handicap company for the first time having won a maiden last month. Timber Twelve might sneak into the placings on a lower mark today, and Tabasko makes some appeal too, although this might be a tough ask for a three-year-old.
The fifth race is a division of a mile and a half handicap (19.32). Pablo Prince is a consistent if rarely winning sort, who just might have an opportunity here. Lilykoy is untested on a track like this and makes her first handicap start, but her pedigree suggests propensity for these undulations.
In the second division (20.07), both Gearing’s Point and Nymphaea won their latest starts. With the former probably the most likely of the two to oblige again. Naranka looks handy after placing last time out, while Ricardo Phillips enters calculations too, but might need the run here.
Finally, racing concludes with a seven-furlong handicap (20.42). Bell Shot is on an attractive mark and has a further five pounds given by his claiming rider. Mission Command was a winner last time out but this new mark might prove to be beyond him. Musical Angel likes this track and looks more likely.
Epsom selections – Wednesday:
17.20 – Bobacious
17.50 – Shemiyla Star, Foscarini to place
18.22 – Goldwork
18.57 – Tabasko e/w
19.32 – Lilykoy
20.07 – Naranka
20.42 – Bell Shot
Horses racing Image: Credit Paul. CC BY 2.0
Surrey walkers invited to tackle five peaks for young people
1 July 2026
Local charity Surrey Care Trust is calling on walkers, families, friends and businesses to take on a 13-mile – or even 26-mile – challenge across Surrey this year, helping young people overcome barriers, build confidence and create brighter futures.
Surrey Care Trust’s 5 Peaks Challenge will see participants take on either a half-marathon or full-marathon distance walk, tackling the “five peaks of Surrey”: St Martha’s Hill, Newlands Corner, Leith Hill, Holmbury Hill and Pitch Hill.
The event aims to raise funds for the charity’s work with young people across Surrey.
For many young people, the biggest obstacles are not physical. Low confidence, anxiety, a lack of skills or uncertainty about the future can make it difficult to remain connected to education, training and employment.
Surrey Care Trust provides alternative education, mentoring, confidence-building activities, skills development and practical support to help young people recognise their potential and move towards a positive future.
Through its Steps2Work programme, the charity says it has supported hundreds of young people into employment, education, training and volunteering.
“Everyone faces challenges in life, and sometimes young people need someone to help them find their way forward. The 5 Peaks Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for the Surrey community to come together, take on a personal challenge and help young people build confidence and achieve their goals,” said Rachel Perez-Lofty, Fundraising and Marketing Manager.
The bespoke orienteering route offers participants the chance to challenge themselves while enjoying Surrey’s countryside, whether walking alone, with friends or as part of a workplace team.
“The Surrey 5 Peaks Challenge really is an adventure not to be missed. I speak from experience. Expert organisation, stunning Surrey Hills countryside, the challenge of the five peaks, fresh air and the chance to meet other walkers all combine to make the day something very special.
“By taking part, you will be helping support vulnerable young people and families across Surrey. You really can make a difference,” said Teresa, a long-time Surrey 5 Peaks walker.
Surrey Care Trust is encouraging people of all abilities to take part, whether they are experienced walkers or simply looking for a new challenge.
The event takes place on Saturday 12 September 2026, following a route from Shamley Green to Wootton and back to Shamley Green.
Surrey Care Trust supports people across Surrey to overcome barriers, build skills and create better futures through mentoring, education, training and community support.
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Seasoned singing from Epsom Choral Society
1 July 2026
Epsom Choral Society concert – June 20th 2026
The Four Seasons is surely one of the world’s best loved and most widely played pieces of classical music. Written by the great eighteenth century Italian composer and violin virtuoso Antonio Vivaldi, this set of four violin concertos is a purely instrumental piece, so its appearance in Epsom Choral Society’s summer concert, performed to an attentive and enthusiastic audience, merits a little explanation.
What we heard on this warm summer’s evening in Cheam was a new choral re-imagining of Vivaldi’s masterpiece, published last year to coincide with the 300th anniversary of its publication in 1725. Entitled A Season to Sing, it is the work of composer and singer Joanna Forbes L’Estrange and has already been performed over seventy times.
Under the skilled leadership of their conductor, Julian Collings, and accompanied by a terrific quartet of professional string players, Epsom Choral Society sang the piece’s familiar melodies with confidence and spirit. And when required they brought the same confidence and spirit to whistling, whispering, clicking and stamping – which also requires a bit of explanation.
As the name suggests, each of the pieces that comprise The Four Seasons represents a different season and unusually Vivaldi provided for each one a short descriptive poem, possibly of his own creation. The poems are full of vivid imagery appropriate to each time year – buzzing flies, barking dogs, sudden downpours, chattering teeth and so on – which Vivaldi represents faithfully, and brilliantly, in his music. When you add to these instantly recognisable details a string of charming melodies and Vivaldi’s sparkling violin writing it’s easy to see why the piece retains its popularity.
To create A Season to Sing, Joanna Forbes L’Estrange had to graft voice parts on to Vivaldi’s original, along with appropriate texts, and unsurprisingly some sections of the work lend themselves more readily to this approach than others. But as a past Musical Director of the famous Swingle Singers, she knows something about how voices can be used to recreate instrumental music and clearly relished the challenge of translating Vivaldi’s special effects into vocal sounds. The choir certainly gave a committed and full-bodied performance of this interesting new addition to the choral repertoire.
This was all after the interval. The first half of the concert consisted of two works by the Norwegian-American composer Ola Gjeilo – Dark Night of The Soul and its companion piece Luminous Night of The Soul – along with Morten Lauridsen’s contemporary classic Sure on This Shining Night.
These three pieces suited the choir perfectly, highlighting its precise and powerful singing, and at the same time showcased the skills of their accomplished musical professionals. Julian Collings, a genial and energetic presence on the podium, had put together a programme which would challenge any choral society, but the clarity and sensitivity of his conducting brought out the very best in his singers. The sinuous melodic lines and shimmering harmoniesof Sure on This Shining Night glowed brightly and provided a welcome moment of calm after the driving rhythms of Dark Night.
At times in both Dark and Luminous NightGjeilo relegates the choir to an accompanying role and thrusts the piano onto centre stage. It needs a really good pianist to bring this off and in the choir’s regular pianist Peter Jaekel we had an outstanding one. His fluent, controlled playing made light work of Gjeilo’s tricky piano writing. Those members of the audience unfamiliar with Gjeilo’s music will certainly have had their interest sparked by Epsom Choral Society’s stirring, robust performances of these two works; one lady I spoke to told me she had never heard any of Gjeilo’s music before but intended to search out some recordings as soon as she got home. I’m sure she wasn’t the only audience member to be attracted to this increasingly popular composer’s sound-world.
Thanks are due to Epsom Choral Society for a concert of interesting repertoire and strong performances, with a beautifully designed, informative programme booklet and a free glass of wine in the interval. A delightful way to spend a fine summer evening.
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Surrey’s Big Poetry Weekend launches in Egham this summer
1 July 2026
A major new poetry festival is coming to Surrey this summer, as the Surrey Poet Laureateship launches its first annual poetry festival.
Surrey’s Big Poetry Weekend ’26 will take place on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August 2026 at the Egham Literary Institute.
The festival has been created by the Surrey Poet Laureateship CIC, a self-funded, volunteer-led organisation founded in 2024. In its first two years, the Laureateship says it has delivered eight free Poetry Hubs across the county, created more than 5,000 engagements with poetry, established more than 20 partnerships and welcomed more than 200 open mic performers to the stage.
Organisers say the new weekend festival will celebrate Surrey’s poets while also bringing nationally recognised contemporary UK poets to the county.
Adam Gary, President of the Surrey Poet Laureateship, said: “When we launched the Surrey Poet Laureateship, people told us poetry was struggling. What we’ve found is the opposite. People are hungry for connection, creativity, and spaces where they can express themselves and be heard.
“Everything we’ve built has been powered by volunteers, belief, and an extraordinary community. Surrey’s Big Poetry Weekend is our biggest leap yet.
“We’re bringing together nationally recognised poets, celebrated Surrey voices, and complete newcomers under one roof because we believe poetry should belong to everyone. We want people to leave inspired, connected, and excited about what poetry can do.”
The weekend programme will include headline performances, talks, panel discussions, workshops and community meet-ups.
Poets appearing at the festival include Len Pennie, Bradley Taylor and Dakota Warren, alongside Surrey poets and emerging voices.
Talks will explore poetry, creativity and literary life, with speakers including Adam Gary, Nia Broomhall and Katie Griffiths. Panel discussions will bring together poets, performers, educators and creatives to consider poetry’s place in modern life.
Topics include Finding Your Voice: Poetry, Wellbeing and Empowerment, looking at how poetry can support wellbeing, self-expression, confidence and resilience.
Another panel, Poetry Without Borders: How Different Voices Shape the Art, will consider how poetry can bridge communities, preserve heritage and create understanding across different backgrounds and lived experiences.
The programme will also include Poetry in the Digital Age: Social Media and the Modern Poet. Guest panellists are expected to include Len Pennie, Bradley Taylor, Adam Gary, Shaniqua Benjamin and others.
Workshops will cover writing, performance, creativity and spoken word. These include a performance workshop led by Bradley Taylor and a poetry for beginners workshop led by Surrey Poet Laureate Adam Gary.
A key feature of Surrey’s Big Poetry Weekend will be its Community Meet-Ups initiative, allowing festivalgoers to help shape the festival experience themselves.
Organisers are inviting attendees to arrange their own gatherings across the weekend, whether focused on Victorian poetry, spoken word, performance technique, niche poetry movements or simply meeting other creative people.
Tori Monks, Vice President of the Surrey Poet Laureateship, said: “One of the things that makes the Laureateship so special is that it welcomes everyone, regardless of their experience with poetry.
“As someone who is new to the poetry world myself, I know how important that sense of openness can be. Our inaugural programme is packed with an incredible line-up of events, performances and voices, offering something to inspire, entertain and engage adults of all ages and backgrounds. We can’t wait to welcome everyone and celebrate poetry together.”
The Surrey Poet Laureateship says the festival is the next stage in two years of community-building, volunteer effort and work to make poetry more accessible.
Despite operating without regular funding, the organisation says it has created free creative opportunities for thousands of people across the county through workshops, outreach projects, open mics, competitions and community partnerships.
Organisers hope Surrey’s Big Poetry Weekend will become an annual fixture in the county’s cultural calendar, attracting nationally recognised poets while continuing to nurture local voices and emerging talent.
Early Bird weekend passes have already sold out. General release day passes are now available.
The Surrey Poet Laureateship is based at The Literary Institute, 51 High Street, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9EW.
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Epsom counselling service aims to make therapy more accessible
1 July 2026
Mental health challenges can affect anyone, at any stage of life. Yet many people still struggle to access the support they need because of long waiting lists, financial pressures or uncertainty about where to turn.
One local counselling service, The Wellbeing Therapy Hut, is working to help address those barriers.
Founded by Epsom-based therapist and director Jess Farazmand, The Wellbeing Therapy Hut was created with a simple mission: to make talking therapy affordable, accessible and available to those who need it.
Since opening, the service has supported children, young people, adults, couples and families across Epsom, Ewell and the surrounding areas, offering both in-person and online counselling.
The organisation places particular emphasis on affordable options, with the aim of ensuring that financial circumstances do not prevent people from accessing support.
Jess said: “Mental health support shouldn’t be something that people only access when they reach crisis point. We believe that early intervention can make a significant difference, helping people build resilience, improve relationships and maintain positive wellbeing before difficulties become overwhelming.”
The team’s work has been recognised through several awards, including the Commitment to Community Award at the Epsom & Ewell Business Awards, along with other regional business and mental health industry accolades.
For Jess and her team, however, the greatest achievement is seeing the positive effect that counselling can have on people’s lives.
The Wellbeing Therapy Hut also works with other local wellbeing professionals and organisations, believing that strong community partnerships help create a wider network of support for residents.
By collaborating with local businesses, charities, schools and community groups, the organisation hopes to continue raising awareness of mental health and encouraging people to seek support when they need it.
Jess added: “Mental health affects every family at some point. The more we talk about it, the easier it becomes for people to reach out and access support. We are proud to be part of a community that cares about the wellbeing of its residents.”
Epsom & Ewell Silver Band brings sunshine and brass to Kensington Gardens
1 July 2026
Visitors to Kensington Gardens were treated to an afternoon of brass music on Sunday 14 June, as the Epsom & Ewell Silver Band performed at the historic Kensington Gardens Bandstand.
The concert, which began at 2.30pm under bright June skies, was part of the Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens Bandstand Concerts, co-organised by The Royal Parks and its Friends groups.
For two hours, the bandstand, a short stroll from Kensington Palace and the Round Pond, became the musical heart of the park. Passers-by, tourists and brass band enthusiasts paused their Sunday afternoon walks to set up deckchairs or gather on the grass, forming an appreciative crowd.
Under the direction of Musical Director Tariq Ahmed, the band delivered a varied programme. The performance reflected the standard that earned the Surrey-based group a strong result at the London and Southern Counties First Section Regional Championships earlier this spring.
The programme included traditional brass band marches, contemporary arrangements of film themes and show tunes, and melodic pieces that showed the band’s balance, precision and warm tone.
The afternoon captured the charm of a British summer in one of London’s best-known green spaces. By the time the final notes sounded at 4.30pm, the band was met with warm applause from an audience reluctant for the music to end.
“Hearing a top-tier silver band like Epsom & Ewell playing in the heart of the Royal Parks is exactly what summer in London is about,” said one local attendee. “The acoustic warmth of the brass floating across the gardens was just spectacular.”
Those who missed the Kensington Gardens performance will have further opportunities to hear the band closer to home this summer.
The band’s annual Summer Concert takes place on Sunday 12 July, from 5pm to 7pm, in the Walled Garden at the Old Moat Garden Centre & Café, Horton Lane, Epsom.
It will also perform at a free community Band in the Park event at Rosebery Park, Epsom, on Sunday 9 August, from 2pm to 4pm.
The Kensington Gardens concert was another reminder of the continuing contribution made by the Epsom & Ewell Silver Band to the local arts scene, whether competing regionally or performing for wider audiences.
For ticket bookings for the Walled Garden concert, or for information about joining the band, visit www.eesb.org.uk.
Steven McCormick
A brand-new pregnancy scanning clinic has opened in Epsom & Ewell
1 July 2026
With pregnancy being one of the most special times in an expectant parent’s life, many choose to make the journey even more memorable by having additional scans outside the NHS in a private setting.
When carried out safely, at a reputable Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulated clinic and by an experienced team, private pregnancy scans can be a magical experience for parents-to-be.
As technology advances, 4D ultrasound scans are becoming increasingly popular, offering parents images of what their unborn baby looks like.
A new clinic, Hey Baby 4D in Ewell, has opened to bring greater convenience and accessibility to the local community. It offers expectant parents reassurance, bonding and experience-led pregnancy scans, including gender and 4D scans.
The service aims to help bridge the gap between routine NHS appointments, providing additional reassurance and memorable bonding opportunities during pregnancy, particularly during the waiting periods between standard scans.
Alongside pregnancy scanning services, the clinic will also offer access to specialist testing, including Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT), early gender blood tests and women’s health blood testing, giving local families easier access to additional pregnancy and wellbeing support in one convenient location.
Owner Chelsey, who also runs Hey Baby 4D Clapham and Hey Baby 4D Sutton, has a strong passion for providing an excellent customer experience. She has now opened a brand-new pregnancy scanning clinic on Cheam Road, Ewell, after successfully establishing the Sutton and Clapham clinics.
Chelsey said she wanted to bring her experience to the Epsom and Ewell area so that more parents-to-be could enjoy the bonding experience of private pregnancy scans.
The clinic, which opened its doors this June, offers reassurance scans from six weeks, sex confirmation, wellbeing scans, NIPT blood tests and immersive 4D scans.
With gender reveal parties on the rise, the scanning room also includes “Gender Reveal Lighting”, which turns the room pink if the baby is a girl and blue if the baby is a boy.
The clinic says it offers a safe and professional service, coupled with a fun experience for families to enjoy. It also has a referral system in place for continuity of care with the NHS, if needed.
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“Are Epsom and Ewell Borough Councillors adults?” Bourne Hall row continues
1 July 2026
Epsom and Ewell councillors have backed a proposal to invest £250,000 over two years in Bourne Hall Museum, but only after another bruising debate over transparency, councillors’ access to information and the continuing fallout from the withheld museum service review.
At a special meeting of Epsom and Ewell Borough Council’s Community and Wellbeing Committee on 9 June, members voted by six votes to none, with one abstention, to support “Option 2” — investment in improvement of the museum. A funding request and business case will now go to the Strategy and Resources Committee in July.
The alternatives before councillors were to continue with business as usual, with no additional funding, or to close the museum.
In a media release supplied after the meeting, the council described the decision as “a significant step forward” and said the investment would help the museum remain “relevant and sustainable”. Committee chair Cllr Clive Woodbridge (RA Ewell Village) said Bourne Hall Museum was “a much-valued cultural asset” and that, with Local Government Reorganisation approaching, “ensuring a lasting legacy is more important than ever”.
Yet the meeting showed that the question of Bourne Hall Museum’s future has become inseparable from a wider dispute over how much information councillors and the public should be allowed to see before decisions are made.
The report before the committee referred to two 2025 reviews: the Bourne Hall Museum Service Review and the Local Government Association Cultural Peer Challenge. It stated that the reviews were relevant to all three options, including maintaining, developing or closing the service. However, the full Service Review was still not included in the public committee papers.
The report said the council’s Proper Officer had been invited to reconsider attaching the redacted service review, but had concluded that it would “not be appropriate” in order to “ensure the impartiality of information presented to members as the decision-making body”.
That explanation was fiercely challenged.
Cllr Chris Ames (Labour Court), who is not a member of the committee but addressed the meeting with the chair’s permission, argued that councillors had a right under section 100F of the Local Government Act 1972 to inspect documents containing material relating to business before a committee unless they disclosed exempt information.
He told the meeting that “impartiality” was not a lawful exemption. He said councillors were “elected adults capable of weighing evidence” and accused the council of operating in an “Alice in Wonderland world” in which selected councillors were given a report but, he said, were being required to act as though they had not seen it.
Cllr Ames also raised the question of public access, saying that section 100B of the same Act required relevant background papers to be published unless a legal exemption applied. He said no such exemption had been claimed and warned that the decision could be vulnerable to call-in or legal challenge.
Cllr Woodbridge said members had “all had a chance to read the report” and tried to steer the discussion back to the future of the museum. But the disclosure issue repeatedly resurfaced.
Cllr Bernie Muir (Conservative Horton) said that, having now seen the information, she could not understand why it had not been provided in the first place. She described the situation as “appalling” and said councillors should be trusted unless they had demonstrated otherwise.
She then turned to the substance of the review, saying that if the document seen by councillors was the full consultant’s report, “they’ve completely wasted their money”, because much of it amounted to basic organisational advice.
Cllr Kate Chinn (Labour Court) also expressed concern about what councillors were or were not allowed to say about the service review. She said she had left a pre-meeting briefing “more confused” about what she could quote or refer to. When she asked whether “bias” was a lawful reason for withholding material, she said she had been told it was “not about the law” but about the Proper Officer’s decision-making.
The chair said he was sure legal advice had been taken, but that the decision was one for the Proper Officer, made on her own judgment.
Epsom and Ewell Times has seen a confidential email sent by Chief Executive Jackie King to members of the committee before the meeting. In it she said it was “not about confidentiality, sensitivity or lack of transparency” but about “impartiality of information presented to members as the decision making body”.
The Chief Executive wrote that the Service Review was “not unbiased” and would not be suitable in its “raw” form for inclusion in a committee report comparing options, because it “repeatedly emphasises the need for continued investment in the existing museum” and could steer readers towards a preferred conclusion. She said she was willing to share the operational report with committee members, with sensitive data such as names redacted, but maintained that it was not suitable to append it to the public options appraisal.
The council’s public agenda for the special meeting stated that no matters were scheduled which would appear to disclose confidential or exempt information under Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
Financial questions also dominated the meeting.
The committee papers put the museum’s current annual budget at around £232,168. Of that, £65,785 related to employee costs for 1.5 full-time equivalent staff, while £123,840 was listed as “accommodation” — described in the papers as a central recharge for use of the space. Central services charges were £32,110, insurance recharges £2,292, other costs £12,180, and income from museum activities £4,039.
The “recharge” point was important because it raised doubts about what the museum really costs and what closure would actually save.
In simple terms, a recharge is an internal accounting allocation. The council incurs general costs for buildings, management, support services and overheads. It then spreads those costs across different services, so that each service appears in the accounts as bearing a share of the council’s wider running costs. That does not necessarily mean the museum is paying rent to an outside landlord, or that closing the museum would save the whole sum shown against it.
Cllr Woodbridge described these as “accountancy charges rather than real charges” and said that if the museum closed the council would not necessarily save that cost, because it was not a cost generated only by the museum.
That distinction matters. On the face of the papers, the museum appears to cost the council £232,168 a year. But more than half of that figure is the £123,840 accommodation recharge, and another £32,110 is central services charges. If those sums are mainly internal allocations of overheads which would remain elsewhere in the council’s budget, the direct cash saving from closing the museum could be far lower than the headline budget suggests.
Cllr Muir queried why such a large accommodation cost was charged to a free public museum located in a council-owned building. She asked why the museum had been put in that position when it was a public service occupying space within Bourne Hall. Ian Dyer, Head of Operational Services, accepted that the charge was historic and “would need to be challenged”.
Cllr Alex Coley (Independent Ruxley) said the recharge model could also make it “extremely unlikely” that the museum would succeed in major external funding applications, because funders would not want their money effectively being used to support internal council recharges. He said the LGA Cultural Peer Challenge had identified this issue.
Cllr Coley also questioned whether councillors were being asked to approve a meaningful investment or simply a process. He said some of the proposed actions — such as replacing long-form text in displays, creating strategies, branding work and social media planning — sounded like business as usual rather than a major transformation. He called for “concrete, tangible” outcomes rather than more paperwork.
Mr Dyer said some short and medium-term recommendations had already been completed by museum staff and that the next stage would be to bring back a business plan setting out what changes would be made with the proposed £125,000 per year.
Cllr Chinn, who proposed supporting Option 2, said any report to Strategy and Resources would need much more detail, including timescales, costs and the implications of Local Government Reorganisation. Cllr Woodbridge agreed that the committee was being asked to decide the principle, not the full business case.
There was little appetite in the room for closing the museum. Before the vote, Cllr Woodbridge said he sensed members appreciated the value of the museum and noted that Option 3 — closure — had not been pursued in the debate.
The committee’s decision does not itself release the £250,000. That decision now passes to Strategy and Resources, where councillors will have to decide whether the business case is strong enough, whether the museum’s accounting model is sustainable, and whether the long-running argument over the service review has been resolved or merely postponed.
For now, Bourne Hall Museum has survived another political test. But the controversy over who gets to see the evidence, and when, remains very much alive.
Epsom Racecourse: Preview and Tips for Derby Day on Saturday
1 July 2026
It’s Derby Day at Epsom Racecourse; one of the most important race meetings of the year. Today’s card consists of eight races, with the two Group One contests taking centre stage; the Coronation Cup and the Derby itself. These are supported by two Group Three races, the Dash Handicap and three further handicaps.
Read on for a preview of and tips for the Epsom card, brought to you by BOYLE Sports, who have all the horse racing odds.
Racing kicks off with the Group Three Tattenham Corner Stakes (13.30). This is a race for older horses run over seven furlongs. There is plenty of good quality recent form on show here, with Never So Brave as the top rated runner for Andrew Balding. His first effort this season was underwhelming, but improvement is expected. Alcantor is a consistent sort who seems likely to run to at least a place, while Golden Mind could spring a surprise if the rain continues to fall.
Next is the extended mile Group Three Princess Elizabeth Stakes for fillies and mares (14.05). Shes Perfect and Sparks Fly jointly top the ratings, and bring a similar level of form to the table. Shes Perfect has very well to place in Group One company but lacks a Group level win, while Sparks Fly has won a Group Three contest before. She was two lengths behind last year’s Derby winner Lambourn in the Huxley Stakes last month, which is promising, and was third in this race last year. Shes Perfect has the most potential for improvement, though.
The Coronation Cup follows, run over a mile and a half (14.40). Francis-Henri Graffard’s revered gelding Calandagan comes back to attempt to reverse last year’s form with Jan Brueghel here, having won five back-to-back Group One races since that day in France, England, Japan and the UAE. Now rated five pounds higher than the Coolmore representative, the Aga Khan horse will be hot favourite and for good reason. He faces some top class opponents, but he is the highest rated horse in the world over this distance currently and will take all the beating.
Race four is the five-furlong Dash Handicap (15.15). Ian Williams’ Dyonisos is god on undulating tracks and could pick up a place at least, having been only narrowly beaten last time, but this is a big ask for him. Kinswoman is a consistent sort who ought to factor, and Cindy Lou Who looks somewhat overpriced and could be a good each-way play.
Onto the feature race of the day, the Derby, worth £1million to the winner (16.00). Benvenuto Cellini is Coolmore’s first string, under Ryan Moore, having won the Chester Vase last time. Item is a very strong candidate for Juddmonte, but is unproven on softer ground. James J Braddock and Pierre Bonnard finished within a short head of one another at Leopardstown last time and are contenders, but both would need a career best. Action is worth keeping an eye on too.
A 10-furlong handicap follows (16.40). Pendella could go well for Karl Burke, given five pounds by rider Jack Nicholls. Savvy Disko makes his handicap debut and could be of interest, while Folk Pageant could be in the mix. Hell Yeah He Did has shown plenty of potential so far and could have a good chance for Ralph Beckett.
Second to last is a mile and a half handicap (17.20). Hengest has recently completed a hat-trick but would need a real career best to win this, while Charlie Johnston’s Elsass seeks a similar achievement, having won both of his two most recent starts. Regal Ulixes looks competitive and could be at a winnable mark. He performs on any ground too.
The Derby Festival concludes with a six-furlong handicap (17.55). Gold Star Hero has recently completed a hat-trick and comes here 16 pounds higher than his last start in 2025. Partisan Hero could get involved, as could Saint Lawrence. Sondad looks competitive on last year’s form, but must leave a disappointing return to action behind him.
