In her latest column, North Yorkshire trainer Ann Duffield reflects on the 2016 Epsom Derby - and welcomes moves to improve racing

THE Epsom Derby provided us with an exciting finish between two very smart horses but, while some TV pundits thought the best horse had won, I beg to differ.

The great Ryan Moore – the best in the world, in my view, right now – will probably wish he had done things differently.

Following Frankie Dettori looked like the plan Ryan had in mind when the stalls opened, except Frankie wasn’t where he wanted to be either. Consequently, Ryan was shuffled back further than was ideal, leaving his hugely talented, but still slightly green and unbalanced, horse with too much to do at the business end of the race.

Run the race differently and it is highly likely “US Army Ranger” would have won.

Nevertheless, it was fantastic to see Dermot Weld training his first Epsom Derby winner and the ever popular, hugely talented jockey Pat Smullen also winning racing's blue riband for the first time.

For the Aga Khan, it was his family’s fifth Derby winner after Shergar (1981), Shahrastani(1986), Kahyasi (1988), Sindar (2000) lifted the coveted title, and now Harzand, whose participation in the race was under serious threat after he pulled a shoe off on the journey from Ireland and had to have hot poultices and hours of ice packs applied right up to the last minute.

The result pays homage to the world class breeding operation the Aga Khan has established. He buys the best, breeds only from the best, uses the best trainers and the best jockeys, enabling him to compete with the very best in the world successfully and consistently.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see US Army Ranger reverse placings with Harzand the next time the colts meet.

ELSEWHERE in the racing world, we are seeing some really positive developments in the way the sport is being run.

Weatherbys – the company entrusted with horseracing’s administration – are about to launch a new, modern and even more efficient system to cater for the ever growing demands placed on the industry.

And, as a result, the Arena Racing Company (ARC), whose new all-weather course at Newcastle has been attracting bumper crowds and bigger fields sizes than ever before, have launched a “pioneering trial” offering extra badges for syndicates.

The trial started on June 1st and is being offered at Royal Windsor and Lingfield Park racecourses and represents a fantastic opportunity to help boost syndicate membership, ultimately increasing the number of horses syndicates will have in training. The current eight-badges per runner rule is being extended to accommodate an additional 20 badges per runner.

ARC said: “The trial is seeking to encourage more syndicate members to enjoy the fun and excitement of watching their horse race. The trial will allow the Racehorse Owners Association and ARC to understand if there is an appetite for syndicates to have the option of potentially accessing more badges for their members. The findings of this trial will help inform all stakeholders working on the Ownership Pillar which is co-ordinated by the BHA."

They have clearly thought this through well because, while everyone wants to encourage syndicates into the sport, and welcome the sole owners who come from such introductions to racing, there remains a need to make sure owners of horses in training are not crowded out by the ever growing number of small shareholders. Therefore, the extra admission badges will “not grant access to the Owners’ and Trainers’ facility so as to continue to ensure this is a premium experience for the connections of all runners”.

Racing's hierarchy are also making big improvements where opportunities have previously been lacking for certain types of horses. In recent years, the importance of the fillies and mares programme has been a cause for concern and a recent review of improvements have shown that about 700 Flat races are now programmed exclusively for fillies, 40 per cent more than 10 years ago.

The median prize fund available in fillies’ races was above that of open races in each of the last 10 years and once a filly reaches a rating of 75, the average filly earns more prize money each season than the average colt. Below 75, both sexes earn a similar amount. Also, more fillies are winning black type and the quality of fillies in training has improved, with 650 more fillies rated 85 and above than 10 years ago, an increase of 58 per cent (versus 39 per cent for colts).

The results of the fillies and mares programme is good news for a yard like ours because we have always had a much higher number of fillies in training than colts, and the same is true now, with 52 fillies compared with 25 Colts and geldings, giving rise to some people saying we are “good with fillies”.

While most of our best results have been with fillies, the truth is that this is simply because we have had more of them. The bottom line is that fillies at the end of the market in which we we operate are cheaper to buy than the boys.