WATCH | Inside the Yard: James Owen discusses Rogue Impact's chances ahead of the 2025 Betfred Derby

James Owen is under no illusions of the tough task facing Rogue Impact in the Betfred Derby, but he believes his first runner in the world’s most famous Classic will not be found wanting for stamina. 

The Newmarket-based dual-purpose handler will break new ground at Epsom Downs on Saturday when saddling the son of Study Of Man in the mile and a half Group One contest, which is worth more than £900,000 to the winner. 

Although Rogue Impact is currently as big as 250/1 on many of the top horse racing betting sites, plenty of horses with similarly big price tags have run well in the race, the most recent being Hoo Ya Mal, who finished second in the 2022 renewal, at odds of 150-1. 

And with ground conditions set to suit Owen believes that The Rogues Gallery-owned colt, who will be partnered by Group One winning rider Luke Morris, will be staying on when others have potentially waved the white flag.  

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Owen said: “Rogue Impact is a lovely colt and he is developing well. He is very well bred being by Study Of Man and out of a Galileo mare. 

“He has got such a good mind, and he is not going to be a horse that we will fry running in a Derby.

"People say if you run them in the Derby you can ruin them, but he is not like that. 

“There is a bit of rain about, and the softer the ground the better for him as he has got plenty of knee action.

“There are no issues with the trip as he won his maiden over it at Lingfield, and he should be strong through the line, it is just a case of whether he has got the speed to lay up with the proper colts, but we won’t know until Saturday. 

“The syndicate have got one hundred people going and they are a great syndicate. If you can have a runner in the Derby then why not.”

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Rogue Impact failed to beat a rival on his most recent start in the Listed Lingfield Derby Trial on his return to turf. 

However, Owen feels there were plausible reasons for his defeat that day having previously broken his maiden tag on the all-weather track at the Surrey venue, where finishing in second that day was fellow Derby contender Al Wasl Storm. 

Owen said: “He showed glimmers in the trial at Lingfield that he is up with the kind of horses he will be up against here, but he just found the ground too fast, and he was still learning on the job. 

“It looks like he has come forward from that run at home. He shocked us a little bit when he was keen after getting that bump at Lingfield as he is not a dazzling workhorse at home as he is kind of always behind the bridle.

“I don’t think he will be keen this time as they will be going a gear quicker and you start going uphill.

"We will ride him a bit more conservatively to have him finishing well. We are not going to be going out there to be handy, we will just ride him to run well.”

And while Owen is no stranger to having runners at the biggest meetings he admits he is excited about what is awaiting him at the weekend. 

Owen added: “It is absolutely fantastic to have a runner in the Derby. Even just to experience it will be great. 

“It is surreal really, but I couldn’t do it without the team around me and the owners that are supporting me.

“Hopefully, it will not be the only runner we ever have in the Derby and that we will have more in the race for years to come.”