Impressive Derby trial for Military Order

Frankel colt Military Order surged to the top of the Derby betting after a strong staying performance in the listed Derby Trial Stakes at Lingfield on Saturday (13th May).

Taken from the Racing Post, 13th May 2023, by Harry Wilson:

A biblical downpour earlier in the week led to the unusual situation of an all-weather Derby trial, but that did not seem to hinder Military Order one bit. The Godolphin colt earned quotes of 4-1 with Betfair Sportsbook to emulate his brother Adayar in June, which would make them the first siblings to land the Derby since Galileo (2001) and Sea The Stars (2009).

“He’s won very well and he’s shown plenty,” said jockey William Buick. “He’s a very straightforward, intelligent, honest horse, but he showed some good qualities that you need at Epsom. He relaxes, he’s got pace and great balance.

"At this stage of his career he's very much like his brother Adayar. You always learn plenty in these type of races and I think we've learned a lot."

Positioned in midfield for the majority of the race, the three-year-old made smooth headway on the inner before nipping up the inside of the front-running Regal Empire to claim the rail, while the Ed Walker-trained Waipiro was bumped as he moved around the outside. Military Order was forced to pull out all of the stops by the gutsy Waipiro, but found more the further he went to win by a length and a quarter.

Buick said: "A race around a track like that, at this stage of his career, doesn't really play to his strengths. As soon as I was in position he was there for me, he's a very balanced horse. He's come through this test great and did everything right. It's another tick in the box for him.”

Military Order drew more comparisons to Adayar from trainer Charlie Appleby’s assistant Alex Merriam, who also praised Buick for his ride.

He said: “Will gave him a lovely ride. It was pleasing how he squeezed through the gap. He looked very straightforward and when Will thought about going, the horse was there, which was nice to see. I just felt it took him a while to get rolling but he’s seen it out nicely in the end and you’ve got to be happy with that."

He continued:“It’s all systems go for the Derby as far as I know, as long as he’s okay. You’d have thought this fella's the main one, but we’ve still got a Dante to come and we’ll see what happens there. He’s big, probably a similar size to Adayar, but probably just a sharper model.”