Telescope fails to impress at Lingfield Telescope was eased in the betting for the Investec Derby at Epsom on June 1st after a "workmanlike" gallop before racing at Lingfield on Wednesday. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt worked over seven furlongs with two stablemates to help compensate for missing his intended prep run in the Dante Stake at York last week due to grazes he sustained on his legs becoming infected. The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned three-year-old will now face a make-or-break gallop at Newmarket on Saturday to determine whether he runs in the Derby. Stoute, who supervised Telescope's work at Lingfield, said: "We felt it was more of workmanlike display. He's worked with these horses this spring and has been more impressive than that. "I felt that he didn't really switch off - even cantering down he was just taking a bit of a tug. Hopefully it will do him the power of good to get back to the racecourse as it's been a long time. "We will see what today has done for him, mentally more than anything else. We'll work him on Saturday and chat again." Telescope worked alongside stablemates Commend and the 95-rated Opinion at the Surrey venue. Commend made the early running, with Opinion in second and the Ryan Moore-ridden Telescope, whose tongue lolled from his mouth throughout the gallop, at the rear. The Derby aspirant was keen to get on with it from the outset, however, and galloped to the front two furlongs from home before crossing the line ahead of Opinion, and then Commend. Moore reported to connections that he was disappointed with the gallop but that the colt had managed to get his tongue over the bit, presumably early in the gallop, and that this may have been a contributory factor. Highclere racing manager Harry Herbert was, like Stoute, also slightly downbeat. He told At The Races: "Anyone watching that, especially those who have seen the horse work in the spring, would say he lacked that usual zip. "He hasn't put in a performance that was as good as had been hoped. I suspect this is a combination of tongue-over-bit and freshness. "'Workmanlike' is the right word for it. Ryan said it wasn't as good as he'd hoped. The final piece of work on Saturday is obviously going to be critical. "The clock is ticking. We will see what his piece of work is like on Saturday before deciding whether to go all out for Epsom or not. While this may have been disappointing, I suspect there might have been a reason for it. "No horse is going to work properly with the tongue over the bit, hopefully we'll see the real Telescope on Saturday and the dream will still be alive." The son of Galileo sprang towards the forefront of the Derby betting after he won a strong Newmarket maiden last September, but was eased by Sky Bet to 9/1 (from 7s) for the premier race of the Flat season with some firms cutting favourite Dawn Approach who is now odds-on in places. Amongst Telescope's owners is former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who was among those in attendance at Lingfield.
