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Abdullah has an enviable problem

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THE strength of owner Khalid Abdullah's Classic hand this year was never better illustrated than when Armiger took the Dalham Chester Vase, one of the traditional Derby trials - and then eased two full points to 10-1 for Epsom.

The reason behind this the move was little or nothing to do with the fact that Armiger was forced to work a little harder than expected on his seasonal debut to win. He defeated the moderately-performed Irish colt Shrewd Idea by 21/2 lengths.

No, the betting changes revolve more around the rather complex, overall plans for the entire Abdullah squad of three-year-olds this summer.

Normally, anyone would be happy to have Armiger as their Derby runner; but Abdullah has an embarrassment of riches this year, and finds himself choosing between three outstanding Classic types - and that doesn't include the brillaint Zafonic, who looks set to be restricted to one-mile events.

Conveniently, all three colts are trained at Newmarket by Henry Cecil, and of the trio, Tenby, the recent winner of the Newmarket Stakes, looks the pick for Epsom. As well as Armiger, there is the strongly-built Commander In Chief, winner of his only two outings.

Being a neat, compact, seemingly agile colt, Tenby should be ideal to handle the tricky contours of Epsom on June 2. Consequently, he has shortened up to be the 2-1 Derby favourite, with Commander In Chief 7-1 second favourite, then 10-1 Armiger.

It was largely the card-marking comments from Cecil following the Chester Vase that had the biggest influence on the betting.

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