Cochrane made the right Derby choice in 50-50 pick

Ray Cochrane had to do a lot of head-scratching before deciding which horse to

ride in the 1988 Derby at Epsom.

And after a couple of furlongs he thought he had picked the wrong one from the

two trained by his boss, Luca Cumani.

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He was struggling to get a good position after missing the break on Kahyasi

while Kefaah, the horse he rejected, was ahead of him and going ominously well.

Thankfully the race changed in his favour and Cochrane went on to capture the

premier Classic.

"He'd won the Lingfield Derby Trial but we thought he might be a Derby horse

when he won his maiden the year before and I knew the trainer was very

excited," said Cochrane.

"The problem was we had two likely contestants in the Derby that year. As well

as the Aga Khan's Kahyasi we had Kefaah, owned by Sheikh Ahmed. He was a very

good horse too and I had to decide which one I was going to ride.

"Both had good chances and both were useful horses. I went for the horse that

I thought Epsom would suit on the day - the more laid back one - but it was a

tough decision.

"He was very good in the preliminaries, but he got left a little bit at the

start.

"I remember coming out of the gate thinking that's all I need getting too far

back early in the race.

"I looked up and saw John Reid on Kefaah in a beautiful position, sitting up

on the bridle. I was too far back and I wasn't even on the bridle.

"To be fair to the little horse he got going and up the hill he was in a good

position, he was starting to travel and I knew he would come down the hill.

"When we turned in I had a beautiful spot. Just inside the furlong pole he hit

the front and strode away from there.

"He was the best ride I had and he went on to win the Irish Derby too. He

turned out to be a fantastic stallion.

"He was an absolute gentleman. He would have had a fantastic chance in the Arc

but he got struck into during the Irish Derby. He was never the same horse again

and was only sixth in France."

Despite retiring from the saddle in 2000, Cochrane is a regular to the Derby as

he is a pundit for the BBC and is Frankie Dettori's agent.

His ever-popular client has had 14 losing rides in the great race so far but

now has his best chance yet as he partners red-hot favourite Authorized for

Peter Chapple-Hyam.

"He's had a couple of places in the race but we want a winning ride for him

now and hopefully it's only a matter of time," Cochrane concludes.

"I was delighted that Authorized's owner put Frankie on him when he was

available.

"Frankie's absolutely chuffed to bits. He's like a dog with two tails.

"Authorized looks like a special horse. Everybody at the yard has always

thought him a Group One horse."

A performance from Authorized and Dettori akin to Kahyasi and Cochrane almost

20 years ago should ensure that time has come.