THERE are a plethora of alternatives, but the Lingfield Derby Trial is Luca Cumani's race of choice when he thinks he has an inmate good enough to land the big one, so the appearance of Curtain Call in today's dress rehearsal at the Surrey track has sparked plenty of interest.
In 1988, Cumani used the Group 3 contest to fine tune Kahyasi's Blue Riband victory and the Newmarket handler followed a similar path with High Rise ten years later.
No surprise, then, that all eyes will be on Curtain Call, currently quoted as 5-1
second favourite for the premier Classic, this afternoon, albeit we can only hope conditions allow the son of Sadler's Wells to stake his claim for the biggest prize in British flat racing.
Fears the Lingfield going will be quicker than Curtain Call would like have prompted Cumani to issue a warning over the colt's participation, and the Newmarket handler will walk the track before making a final decision. "I'm not that worried about the ground, it is the press and TV people who are worried and I think it will be fine for him," he said.
So, as usual, it's the meedya's fault.
"His one disappointing run came at Doncaster on the fastest ground he has encountered but we prefer to think that was because it was late in the season," added Cumani.
"There is still a lot of moisture underneath so my main concern is not whether the horse goes on fast ground or not, it is that he comes back sound and not take any risks so that he is ready to run in the Derby.
"He's not a heavy horse, he's very nimble and light on his feet but he can be a bit of a handful at home.
"If he was a person, he would be in danger of picking up an ASBO from time to time but I like him to be expressive because it gives me all the right signals that he is in good form.
"Of course I think he's capable winning a Derby, otherwise I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing with him."
Formerly trained by Jessica Harrington in Ireland, Curtain Call was good enough as a juvenile to split New Approach and Henrythenavigator at the Curragh last summer, so the fact that pair finished first and second in the 2000 Guineas last weekend might be looked on as something of a bonus, and then some.
Godolphin's horses have hit too many duff notes so far this term to think Campanologist would pose a great threat now that he's with the boys in blue rather than Mark Johnston.
Not so the Aidan O'Brien pair of Alessandro Volta and King Of Rome, the former looking to round off a great week for the Ballydoyle team and their new stable jockey Johnny Murtagh.
On what the six-strong field have shown to date, however, Curtain Call looks the pick of the bunch so we'll stick with him.
Those who claim there's not enough racing clearly haven't sat down and tried to plough their way through this weekend's ten cards, but at least the deluge of racing does give fans of both codes the opportunity to indulge in their passion.
Especially those who are Haydock bound, with the meeting at the Merseyside venue offering both flat racing and proper stuff.
Alan King can do little wrong at the moment, whether over jumps or on the level, so Group Captain is fancied to pull rank in the Swinton Hurdle, and while Hoh Hoh Hoh should really wait until nearer Christmas before making an appearance, Saleem Golam's mount still looks well worth following.
Racer Forever stands out as one of the bets of the day in the finale, while the banker goes at the other end of the Haydock card where the fast improving Supreme Wisdom can score at a decent price.
The best bet has only had half-a-dozen outings but has acquitted himself well in all of them so despite the fact this is a tough looking contest, Superior Wisdom can collect in the opener.
The full article contains 691 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
