Charlie Hills’ William Hill blog: Tom Marquand booked to ride Sonny Liston in Derby

William Hill ambassador Charlie Hills looks ahead to Sonny Liston, his first runner in the Derby, and reveals an interesting jockey booking for the three-year-old.

Marquand a great addition

We’ve booked Tom [Marquand] to ride Sonny Liston in the Derby and he’s a great addition. Marco [Ghiani] has done nothing wrong on him in his first three starts but we just felt we should try and get someone with a little bit more experience.

We all know how well Tom is riding at the moment. He’s in great form, is riding with huge confidence, and those are things you can’t beat really. We’re really looking forward to having him in the saddle next Saturday.

Hoping Sonny Liston is no back marker

The horse won his maiden last year at Sandown really well and we’ve had to be quite patient with him since. He’s out of a Galileo mare, so should stay the trip and the fact he’s not the biggest of horses might actually be an advantage around Epsom. He’s a well-balanced colt, has a great turn of foot and we thought Epsom might just suit him.

He’s run pretty well on both starts this season and we just thought we’d give it a crack. That might be a bit harsh on his chances because I’d like to think he’s got a strong each-way chance and I certainly don’t see him as being there to make up the numbers.

He’s a beautiful mover and he would have learnt plenty going around Chester, so we’re really looking forward to it. What a year to be involved with the Platinum Jubilee and it’s an event myself and the whole yard are really excited about.

While his runs at Newmarket and Chester have been more than respectable, I’d have thought there is a lot more he can give. They went no gallop in the Feilden and so the race turned into a bit of a sprint which didn’t really suit, while at Chester he didn’t really handle the track. Everything came a bit quick for him and so the fact he was still able to finish as close as he did was most encouraging.

He’s a very relaxed horse and so I don’t have too many worries about the trip. We’re just hoping he gets a nice journey round and then we’ll see how good he is.

Derby goes back a long way in the Hills family

The Derby is a race that’s special for everyone in racing and the Hills family is no different. Growing up, my father kept finishing second! Amazingly he had four horses finish second and it was just unfortunate he wasn’t quite able to get one home in front.

I remember Hawaiian Sound in 1978 being pipped by Shirley Heights. He was so close and unfortunately he came off the rail and Lester Piggott darted down the inside and just headed him on the line. It was a tough day that’s for sure.

My brother Michael won it aboard Shaamit who had only won a Doncaster maiden prior to running at Epsom, which was an incredible achievement for a horse with so little experience. It was a great day for the whole family and Michael brings it up the whole time.

It’s a brilliant race and one we’re lucky to be involved in.