Weld ace to head down Derby route The Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday week is the likely next port of call for the hugely exciting Zawraq. Dermot Weld's charge made a winning debut at the Foxrock track last October and could not have been more impressive on his seasonal reappearance in the 2,000 Guineas Trial at the same venue. The son of Shamardal is a general 8-1 shot for the Investec Derby at Epsom in June and while he holds an entry in the Irish 2,000 Guineas on May 23, Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, has revealed connections are favouring stepping up in trip. Gold said: "Sheikh Hamdan will all being well be over (at Newmarket) this weekend, so we'll talk about it then, but I think it's probably more than likely he'll run next weekend in the Derrinstown Derby Trial. "I know that is what Mr Weld and Mr (Pat) Smullen want to do, so we'll discuss it with Sheikh Hamdan and then make a decision. That's probably the way we're going. "The other option is the Irish (2,000) Guineas, but that is another two weeks on and whether it would be sensible to wait for that, I'm not sure. "We don't have too many potential Derby horses and he is probably the best of them."
