Nap of the Day: Mullins to be top Brass in Amateurs’ Derby

There is no shortage of Bank Holiday Monday racing action taking place, with five meetings in Britain accompanied by two from Ireland.

Betfred are proud sponsors of the afternoon action at Epsom, where the Amateurs' Derby takes centre stage and our Monday Nap could be set to shine on the famous Downs for George Baker and a familiar face from the jumping world.

15:20 Epsom Odds

The feature race on the afternoon card at Epsom is the Betfred Nifty 50 Amateurs' Derby Handicap, where a field of eight are set to tackle the famous Classic course and distance.

Amongst them will be BEAULD AS BRASS in the hands of Patrick Mullins, the Irishman hoping to add to his 50 per-cent strike-rate on the Downs by making it three wins in five here.

They've got top-weight to carry but this 86-rated gelding might be up to defying it in a first-time tongue-tie.

He caught fire in the spring, winning four times on the trot in a little over three weeks, two on the all-weather and two on turf.

He ran off a mark of 83 at Newbury in May, finishing third under his 10lb penalty, and had an excuse at Epsom’s Derby meeting in June as he fluffed the start.

He won over 1m6f at Haydock next time, but testing ground at Glorious Goodwood over 2m4½f was almost certainly not for him and he duly came home at his own pace.

He was progressive to that point, however, and the underfoot conditions at Epsom are forecast to be 'good-good to firm in places' which will be ideal for him.

His first two seasons largely saw the son of Brazen Beau campaigned over 6f/7f and his four runs in 2024 all came at sprint trips.

He left Adam West at the end of last summer to reunite with George Baker and has really thrived this year.

His winter runs on the all-weather were once more over 7f/1m, but it was at Kempton in December that he indicated his stamina could be a real trait, finishing second over 1m3f on his first run beyond the bare-mile trip.

He tackled a novice hurdle at Fontwell (2m1½f, soft) on Boxing Day but was pulled up with those testing conditions seemingly against him.

Fast Racing Results

Back from nearly four months off, he won over 1m2f at Lingfield to commence that four-timer that also included wins at Chelmsford, Bath and Leicester, latterly when upped to this trip for the first time.

His Newbury third behind Burrito under a penalty was acceptable given the winner scored at York in June from a 10lb higher mark on his only run since, and it's best to draw a line through his run at Epsom’s Derby meeting given his chance was gone from the start.

The Haydock win was another cracking and game success under a decent weight, and Glorious Goodwood is another chapter worth ignoring.

Take out the excusable blips and he's still progressing at intermediate trips. He's 3lb above his last win-mark and can account for the likes of in-form pair Gordon Grey and Warning Sign to give Mullins another Epsom success.

Nap Of The Day from Betfred Insights.