Coral Racing Ambassador, Hugo Palmer, previews both of his runners on Friday, including The Waco Kid in the Listed Surrey Stakes at Epsom on the first day of the Derby Meeting.

13:30 Epsom – The Waco Kid

We won this race in 2022 with Ever Given, and he wouldn’t have been as good as The Waco Kid, who had a great season as a two-year-old, winning his Group Three on soft ground, but as we know, he’s almost paying the price for that win as he’s been carrying a penalty for it this year.

On the plus side, we should be getting some ease in the ground for him for the first time this season. As he’s quite a small, nimble horse, who handled the dip at Newmarket well, and the softer ground will suit, the hope is he can bounce right back to his best form, as he will need to do.

Epsom Oaks Preview

If the favourite, Desert Flower, stays this mile and half trip, then she is the best filly in the race, but there is a question mark over her stamina, being by a miler in Night Of Thunder, so at her current odds she makes little appeal from a betting perspective, albeit she is an unbeaten Guineas winner.

The Cheshire Oaks winner, Minnie Hauk, by contrast, is guaranteed to stay, and is the pick of Ryan Moore, so has an obvious chance, while I like Revoir as a stayer too, and she could reverse Newbury placings with Qilin Queen.

17:30 Thirsk – Arabian Cobra

Arabian Cobra is another who has been waiting for some ease in the ground, and we got that at Hamilton last week, where he came so close to finally breaking his duck. Despite losing, and him being a 13 race maiden, the handicapper has whacked him another five pounds.

He’s not exactly a consistent sort, and we are asking him to back up his Hamilton run quite quickly, but despite this, I hope he is not without a chance

Hugo Palmer, Coral Racing Ambassador