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June 3 (UPI) -- Weekend racing is all about the doings on Epsom Downs southwest of London, where the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday are the highlights of the British flat racing season. Both races, sponsored by Cazoo, an online motor vehicle retailer, have rich histories dating to the 1780s and including most of the great names of the sport -- horses, owners, trainer and jockeys.
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This year's Derby is an interesting mix with lots of prospects. The Oaks has a heavy favorite with Marx Brothers connections.
Beyond the Derby, there's another Breeders' Cup qualifying race in Japan and really interesting races, on both dirt and turf, featuring some potential future stars, around North America.
In the state-bred arena, Evangeline Downs has the Louisiana Legends program Saturday and Belterra Park hosts the Best of Ohio competition Friday.
England
Seventeen colts go for glory in Saturday's Cazoo Derby on the Epsom Downs with relative inexperience and short fields in some of the main prep races leaving the outcome very much in doubt.
The main contenders, though, will be recognizable by the colors of their silks -- a rainbow that metaphorically is all green, denoting the deep pockets behind the Coolmore partners, Sheik Mohammed's Godolphin and the Niarchos family Flaxman Stables among them.
The antepost favorite, Desert Crown, a son of Nathaniel trained by Sir Michael Stoute, is owned by Dubai businessman Saeed Suhail who, despite his relatively low profile in the sport, has been deeply involved in English racing since the 1980s.
Desert Crown makes just his third career start and exits a victory in the Group 2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York, where he faced only seven rivals.
The Coolmore forces, in various combinations, have four Derby runners, three trained by Aidan O'Brien and one by his son, Donnacha.
Stone Age, a Galileo colt, is the second-favorite in the antepost wagering and gets added points as the choice of the connections' No. 1 rider, Ryan Moore. He did not win at 2, but took both his previous starts this year, most recently the Group 3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown in a field of seven.
The Irish raiders also have Changingoftheguard with Wayne Lordan to ride, Piz Badile with Frankie Dettori up, and Star of India, Seamie Heffernan's mount.
Godolphin' top hope among three starters is Nation's Pride. The Teofilo colt, with William Buick up for trainer Charlie Appleby, rides a four-race win streak.
It's worth noting, though, that two of those came late last year on all-weather courses and the 2022 debut was in Dubai in the Jumeirah Derby, a conditions race.
He won the Newmarket Stakes in preparation for the Derby but beat only three rivals. The Derby will be his first pattern race.
The lack of a firm favorite will leave some apparently good chances at tempting odds.
For example, Royal Patronage returns after finishing second, beaten just a neck by Desert Crown in the Dante. The Wootton Bassett colt, trained by Charlie and Mark Johnston, is among the more experienced Derby contenders, making his ninth start.
Yet, while Desert Crown's antepost odds hover either side of 2-1, Royal Patronage is available at some bookmakers' shops as high as 33-1.
Hoo Ya Mai is at triple-digit odds everywhere despite finishing second to Nation's Pride in the Newmarket. Granted, he was seven lengths adrift in that short field, but he also finished third, beaten 5 lengths, in the Group 3 bet365 Craven Stakes.
The Derby is being run "in memory of Lester Piggott," as the legendary jockey passed away early this week.
And apparently it will be run without Her Majesty as Queen Elizabeth II reportedly is giving the race a rare miss, conserving her strength for other events in her Platinum Jubilee festivities.
The 96-year-old monarch's Derby hope, Reach for the Moon, was ruled out of the race earlier by trainer John Gosden, and now is targeting Royal Ascot later in the month.
Friday is Oaks Day at Epsom, and if the Derby lacks a hot favorite, the filly race more than compensates.
Trainers John and Thady Gosden have been doing their best to damp down comparisons between the Oaks favorite, Emily Upjohn, and one of their brightest stars of yesteryear, Enable, winner five years ago en route to a legendary career.
Jockey Frankie Dettori, who made no secret of his love for Enable, has been among those pushing Emily Upjohn's fame and on Friday at Epsom Downs, gets a chance to make good on that.
As they say, it's not bragging if you can do it. To date, Emily Upjohn hasn't been bragging as she's done it in all three starts -- an all-weather tilt at Wolverhampton to open her account last November,
Then came a 9 1/2-length romp in her 3-year-old debut on the Sandown turf and a 5 1/2-length win in the Group 3 Musidora Stakes at York May 11. That progression has been more than enough to make the Sea the Stars filly the hot favorite Friday.
Emily Upjohn was a character in the Marx Brothers' 1937 film "A Day at the Races," played by Margaret Dumont.
If Emily Upjohn falters, the Oaks could go in any number of ways. Nashwa, a Frankel filly, has won both starts this year, and also is trained by the Gosdens.
Aidan O'Brien and the Coolmore lads send out Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up and third-place finisher Tuesday and Concert Hall. Godolphin's hope is With the Moonlight, another by Frankel who won the Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket in her only previous outing this year.
Friday's Group 1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs has a field of six to try 1 1/2 miles with Manobo and Pyledriver the solid favorites.
Manobo, a 4-year-old Godolphin homebred by Sea the Stars, saw his perfect record end at five wins as he finished second in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup on World Cup night.
Pyledriver, a 5-year-old by Harbour Watch, was fourth, beaten just 1 length, in the Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on the same program and won the 2021 Coronation Cup.
Japan
Sunday's Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen, a "Win and You're In" for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile, has an interesting entry in Café Pharoh, a son of American Pharoah who twice has won the Grade 1 February Stakes at 1 mile on the Tokyo dirt course.
This will be just his second start on turf and the first was an uninspiring ninth in a 2,000-meters event a Hakodate. A more promising sign is Yuichi Fukunaga taking the mount for trainer Noriyuki Hori.
The diverse field also includes the 1-2 finishers from the last year's Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup, Schnell Meister and Songline; 2-year-old phenoms from the past two years, Danon the Kid and Serifos; Soul Rush, looking to extend a four-race win streak while stepping up in class; and Fine Rouge, second in each of two previous 2022 starts.
Meanwhile, back in North America:
Turf / Turf Mile
Unanimous Consent is undefeated after three starts and tops a field of six for Saturday's $200,000 Grade II Pennine Ridge Stakes for 3-year-olds at Belmont Park.
The British-bred Almanzor colt, trained by Chad Brown, has won at Monmouth Park, Tampa Bay Downs and Aqueduct. Brown also fields the promising Napoleonic War.
Todd Pletcher tries Emmanuel on the grass after a fourth-place finish in the Grade II Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and third in the Toyota Blue Grass at Keeneland.
Gilded Age is entered to make his first start since a 13th-place finish in the Group 2 UAE Derby in March only if the race is moved to the dirt.
Annapolis, Red Danger and Fort Washington top a field of eight for Friday's $400,000 Grade II Penn Mile for 3-year-olds at Penn National. Annapolis, by War Front, won both 2-year-old starts for trainer Todd Pletcher including the Grade II Pilgrim at Belmont Park and makes his 3-year-old debut in a tough spot.
Red Danger has been kept busy by trainer Brian Lynch, starting six times last year and five times in the first five months of 2022.
He comes off a seventh in the Grade II American Turf at Churchill Downs. Fort Washington, another by War Front, was second to the aforementioned Unanimous Consent in the Woodhaven Stakes at Belmont in his most recent start.
Oddsmaker Mike Battaglia found little to separate the six entries for Saturday's $200,000 Grade III Arlington Stakes at Churchill Downs, listing five of them at low single-digits on the morning line.
Among them, Get Smokin returns from a last-place finish in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on World Cup night in Dubai. Like the King, at 12-1 on the morning line, was 12th in last year's Kentucky Derby.
Saturday's $200,000 Audubon Stakes for 3-year-olds at Churchill Downs rates as a tossup with 11 set to go. James Jones, a More Than Ready colt trained by Chad Brown, makes his third start following an impressive first win over the course last time out.
Todd Pletcher saddles two, including first-time turf starter Major General.
Dalika looks to rebound from a disappointment at the end of a long 2021 career when she lines up against a big field in Sunday's $200,000 Grade III Old Forester Mint Julep Stakes at Churchill Downs.
The 6-year-old German-bred mare won the Grade III Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park last season and was second in the Grade III Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf. Hendy Woods likewise has produced some superior performances.
The remainder of the field includes several promising younger horses whose careers started in Europe.
Filly & Mare Turf
Friday's $150,000 Penn Oaks drew a field of six -- Haughty and five others. Haughty, an Empire Maker filly from the Chad Brown training empire, is the odds-on favorite on the morning line while making her first start since finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Brown also sends Customer List, a French-bred filly who won her only juvenile start last September at Monmouth Park. Note she's by Wootton Bassett, who also is well represented in Saturday's Cazoo Derby at Epsom in England.
Saturday's $200,000 Grade III Regret Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs has some nice ones in a field of six.
The 7-5 morning line favorite, McKulick, exits a second-place finish in the Grade II Edgewood on Oaks Day. Beside Herself was a front-running winner at the Keeneland meeting. Candy Raid had a rough trip in finishing ninth in the Kentucky Oaks.
Turf Sprint
Boardroom and Amalfi Coast top a cast of eight fillies and mares set for Saturday's $175,000 (Canadian) Grade II Royal North Stakes at Woodbine.
Boardroom, a 5-year-old Commissioner mare out of the Rahy mare Money Madness, has a record of 5-2-1 from eight starts, all at Woodbine, and comes off a second in the Grade III Whimsical last month.
Amalfi Coast, a 6-year-old Tapizar mare, starts for the first time this year. She won this in 2021 and also is seldom out of the frame at the Toronto-area oval.
Classic
Saturday's $200,000 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs well could turn out to be a key race of 2022 with promising 4-year-olds American Revolution and Scalding set to face off among eight entries.
American Revolution, a Constitution colt trained by Todd Pletcher for the potent combo of WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, is 5-for-7 and climbed out of the New York-bred ranks to win the Grade I Cigar Mile at Aqueduct in December in his last start.
A good showing here would herald another star in the making. Scalding, a Nyquist colt from Shug McGaughey's barn, rides a four-race winning streak with the Grade III Ben Ali at Keeneland his most recent triumph.
Distaff
Pauline's Pearl could be the banker for the entire weekend when she lines up against five rivals in Saturday's $200,000 Shawnee Stakes at Churchill Downs.
The 4-year-old Tapit filly has won three of her last four starts. In her last, she defeated a much tougher field in the Grade I La Troienne on Oaks Day over the same course and distance with Shedaresthedevil and Ava's Grace second and third.
Sprint
Bob's Edge rates as a narrow favorite in a field of eight for Saturday's $200,000 Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs after a successful winter at Oaklawn Park where the 4-year-old Competitive Edge gelding won the King Cotton and the Grade III Whitmore. Top Gunner, Necker Island and Bango all look like candidates to compete.
Nine are drawn for Saturday's $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Monmouth Park and the three inside gates will be occupied by the morning-line favorites, Quick Tempo, Drafted and Greeley and Ben.
Drafted was last seen winning the Grade III Runhappy Stakes at Belmont Park. Greeley and Ben has won 13 of his last 15 starts and reported third in the aforementioned Whitmore two starts back. Quick Tempo was third in the St. Matthews at Churchill Downs in his last.
Filly & Mare Sprint
Becca Taylor, Dance to the Music and Samurai Charm all get some oddmaker love on the morning line for Saturday's $100,000 Grade III Desert Stormer Stakes at Santa Anita.
Becca Taylor has been defeated only once in eight starts, that a second by a nose in the Irish O'Brien in March. Dance to the Music was second in the Grade I Del Mar Debutante last fall and won her 3-year-old debut last month.
Samurai Charm had her five-race win skein snapped last time out, finishing sixth in the Grade II Zenyatta, fading at 1 1/16 miles.
