Derby wins race for new sponsor (original) (raw)

Epsom racecourse's extended search for a long-term sponsor for the Derby finally reached a conclusion yesterday when Investec, a "leading specialist bank", agreed to support the two-day Derby ­Festival meeting for the next five years.

The news will be seen as a major ­success for Epsom's management, not simply because of the length of the deal but also because the new sponsor, a UK-South African operation, is a non-racing business. Investec has been involved with sponsorship in rugby union but on nothing like this scale, which brings completely fresh money into the sport

However, it is unclear precisely how much money Investec has paid to be ­associated with the world's most famous Classic. In recent weeks, a number of ­leading betting businesses are believed to have been offered the Derby sponsorship for around £400,000 per year, and Investec is unlikely to have paid any more than this since an extended deal has ­considerable attractions for the racecourse.

The prize fund for this year's Derby will be guaranteed at least £1.2m, the same as last year's figure, when it is run at Epsom on 6 June. This year's renewal will also be the first following a £38m ­redevelopment scheme to replace Epsom's old main grandstand with the new Duchess Stand, which was opened a fortnight ago.

"I never discuss the [financial] details of sponsorships," Nick Blofeld, Epsom's managing director, said yesterday, "and it's very early days to be discussing issues like the prize fund [over the next five years], but obviously we're very pleased with the agreement.

"It was a bit last-minute, but we'd ­spoken to them before and then another opportunity came along and they decided to grasp it. I think they strike the right sort of blend with Epsom. They have an understanding of the traditions and heritage of racing, but they are also very creative when it comes to things like marketing."

Blofeld is also happy to have a sponsor from the financial sector, despite the problems faced by many banks at present.

"I think that certain banks are doing better than others, and they are certainly quite a specialist one," Blofeld said. "They have a lot of international operations, primarily in South Africa and Australia I believe, which might be useful in terms of encouraging foreign runners, particularly in a race like the Coronation Cup."

Vocalised, the Greenham Stakes winner at Newbury last month, added another Group Three to his record with victory in the Tetrarch Stakes at The ­Curragh ­yesterday. He has now won three of his four career starts, failing only when behind Sea Of Stars, the subsequent 2,000 Guineas winner, on his racecourse debut. "He will go for the [Irish] 2,000 Guineas [on 23 May]," Jim Bolger, his trainer, said. "I just hope for better ground."

On the same card Luca Cumani's ­Curtain Call, who contested both the Derby and the Irish Derby last year, took the Group Three Mooresbridge Stakes. "He has a good turn of foot and Fran [Berry] gave him a peach of a ride," Luca Cumani, his trainer, said. "He will go wherever it rains and he could come back to Ireland for the [Group One] Tattersalls Gold Cup."