Excitement growing for Ocovango in Derby Connections of Ocovango are confident jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot will seize the moment in the Investec Derby at Epsom on Saturday. The 20-year-old rookie has partnered Andre Fabre's colt to victory in all three career starts, but has never ridden in a race at the complex Surrey circuit. To compensate for a relative lack of international experience - he has only had one ride in Britain, when Brigantin finished third in the 2011 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot - Boudot's team are endeavouring to find him a mount on Friday's Investec Oaks card. Parallels can be made with jockey Mickael Barzalona, who had his first taste of Epsom in the Oaks, when the Aidan O'Brien-trained Why finished 12th as a 100/1 chance. Barzalona, who was 19 at the time, then won the premier Classic 24 hours later when the Fabre-trained Pour Moi struck in dramatic fashion. Ted Voute, racing and bloodstock manager for Ocovango's owner, Prince Faisal, said: "Pierre-Charles is a very good jockey and is third in the championship in France. "Andre Fabre did a similar thing with Mickael, and look what happened there. "We are trying to find him a ride for Friday, but it's very difficult. "Either way, we're very confident we have the right man for the job. "He knows the horse inside out, but I would think he still needs a bit of luck in running, like all the jockeys do. "I certainly don't see him as a negative." Ocovango, like Pour Moi, won the Group Two Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud on his last start before heading to Epsom. Momentum in the French raider has been gradually building since he and Boudot enjoyed a beneficial workout at the 'Breakfast with the Stars' morning at the track last Thursday. Many observers nonetheless feel the Monsun colt requires ease in the ground to be fully effective, but Voute is not convinced that is the case. He said: "He's a lovely mover and the covering at Epsom is just magical. "Everyone says he needs cut in the ground, but I walked the course when he ran at Saint-Cloud on his last two starts and it was perfect ground both times, especially in the Greffulhe. "We appear to be coming in under the radar, which is just how we like it. "He'll have a quiet week and will come to England later in the week with a companion he always travels with. "All is well, and we are slowly getting more and more excited. "It's very special to get a horse good enough to run in the Derby - it's what we aim for in our business."
