Racing: Simeon is late French Derby entry for Johnston

There is no fiercer critic of the early entry system to the Derby than Mark Johnston, but then there is no-one who has been more embarrassed by the run-up to this year's Blue Riband than the Middleham trainer.

Johnston's Bandari and Fight Your Corner, neither of whom caught the trainer's eye sufficiently as young horses to merit entry for Epsom, are now second and third favourites for the scoot around Tattenham Corner a week on Saturday. Only Ballydoyle's twin monoliths of Hawk Wing and High Chaparral stand ahead in the betting.

Bandari and Fight Your Corner have recently been bought by the Maktoums, the former by Sheikh Hamdan senior, the latter as a somewhat lavish gift for his son Sheikh Hamdan by Sheikh Mohammed. The boy must have done well in his spelling test. Both, in addition, will have to be supplemented for the Derby, though the money will not burn a hole in the dish-dash pocket.

Now a third Kingsley House inmate, the Sandown Classic Trial winner Simeon, has had the money rustling with confirmation yesterday that he is to run in Sunday's Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly. Johnston tells us he has had the Classic mapped out for some while, though perhaps not for long enough. Simeon will also have to be supplemented, at a cost of 60,000 euros (£37,874) tomorrow. Frankie Dettori, who won the race 10 years ago on Polytain, will partner the colt for the first time.

"It's been the long-term target," Johnston said yesterday. "We're absolutely sure that it's the right way to go with the horse. We do realise that it's a very tough race and that Act One [the Jonathan Pease-trained home favourite] will take a lot of beating, but we are fit enough if good enough.

"He's been fine since Sandown, but we gave him a break because we had previously given him three races in quick succession. There have been no problems with him, touch wood.

"He's a slightly unusual horse in his head carriage, but we can easily tell Frankie about that and it's not as though it's a problem. He runs very genuinely and is a very straightforward horse. Frankie has not ridden for us much in recent years because of his Godolphin commitments but he has ridden an awful lot for us in the past."

Alan Berry is another trainer with much to look forward to following the clearance of his Cockerham equine workforce to resume combat on the racecourse. Simianna (6.55) will be Moss Side Stables' first runner at Newbury tonight since Berry closed down his operation over a week ago.

The trainer decided not to send any more horses to the races after one of his 100-strong string returned with a dirty nose. Two other of Berry's charges had suffered similar symptoms. He then informed the Jockey Club and batches of swabs were sent away to the Animal Health Trust for testing.

"I thought three times was too much," Berry said yesterday. "We put the horse in the isolation box and gave it some penicillin. It was fine in a few days.

"You'd have thought we would have known the results the following day, but everything in racing takes time. The results from the older horses came back first and they were negative and now the two-year-olds have been given the all-clear.

"It has been a frustrating time especially as it had been a slow start to the year because of the cold and wet weather. We had just started to get going."