6 in Coronation Cup contention Cracksman will face five rivals in the Investec Coronation Cup at Epsom on Friday. John Gosden’s brilliant Champion Stakes winner returned to action this season with a stylish victory in France in the Prix Ganay. He is likely to be a long odds-on favourite in the Group One as he returns to Epsom after finishing third in the Derby a year ago. Cracksman’s biggest test could from from Charlie Appleby’s Hawkbill. The 2016 Eclipse winner was in fine form in Dubai, beating Poet’s Word in the Sheema Classic. Aidan O’Brien’s big hope is Idaho, a very impressive winner of the Ormonde Stakes at Chester, having run in several Group Ones all over the world since claiming the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot last season. Yucatan also runs for O’Brien. Salouen represents Sylvester Kirk, while Markus Klug sends over Windstoss, a dual Group One winner from Germany. While Klug rates his runner highly, he is well aware of the task in front of him. Klug told At The Races: “He won the German Derby last year and the Preis von Europa, another Group One, in Cologne. “So we try at Epsom and hope we’ll be placed — that would be great if he could be placed. “Cracksman is a wonderful horse and he looks the best horse in Europe at this distance.”
