Curtain Call Derby Prospects Connections of Curtain Call are "very hopeful" ahead of Saturday´s Vodafone Derby. Bill Oppenheim is part of the syndicate who own the colt that also includes Juliet Cooper, Patrick Cooper and Jimmy George. The Perthshire-based journalist and thoroughbred consultant has recommended matings resulting in 10 classic winners for three different breeders since 1992. "This is my first classic runner and my first black type horse as an owner and ownership in my income bracket means that you can´t usually get this sort of horse," said Oppenheim. "I think he´ll get the Derby trip and Pat, our leader, has always just insisted that he would definitely be a mile-and-a-half horse. "I thought on his performance at Nottingham that it would be no problem and the way he stayed was one of the things that most impressed me on the day as it was his first time past a mile and there were no problems. "We´re certainly very happy with the ground at Epsom and it looks like being fair ground for everybody. The only reason we took him out at Lingfield was that Luca considered that it wasn´t the day to try him on firm ground. "My professional opinion as a person whose job is to try to understand form is that last year´s Irish two-year-olds were the best in Europe. Henrythenavigator and New Approach have finished one-two in both Guineas which certainly suggests the form is strong. "Of the horses trained in Ireland as two-year-olds, you have the favourite Casual Conquest, who admittedly only had one race and it wasn´t a stakes race, New Approach and our horse, the first three favourites who all fall in that category, and if Henrythenavigator was running, he would have been one of the four favourites. "My reading is that if we have the horse we think we have, we will beat the English-trained horses. That´s my reading and I´m very hopeful and if we win, it will definitely be a blow for the little people and I hope that it´s our turn this time."
