High Definition, the favourite for the Derby at Epsom next month, will miss his intended reappearance in the Lingfield Derby Trial on Saturday after pre-race blood tests “just weren’t 100%” according to Aidan O’Brien, the colt’s trainer. High Definition has been the clear favourite for the Classic since making plenty of ground to win the Group Two Beresford Stakes at the Curragh last September going away. He was a 3-1 chance for Epsom, and one of only three colts priced up in single figures, when the news that he would miss his intended trial broke on Wednesday evening. “I’m not sure where he might run,” O’Brien said. “We’ll just have to wait and see how things go over the coming days really. We’ll have to play it by ear and see how he is when things settle down.” O’Brien, who has already won the Derby a record eight times, is now running out of options in order to give High Definition a prep run – and only the third outing of his career – before the premier Classic on 5 June. His colt holds an entry in the Dante Stakes at York next Thursday and is also in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh on 22 May, while the Gallinule Stakes, over 10 furlongs at the Curragh on 23 May, is another possibility although it would come just 13 days before Epsom. O’Brien was forced to withdraw two entries from Wednesday’s Chester Vase here on the opening day of the May meeting after rain got into the ground, and Sandhurst, his only runner, came up short against Youth Spirit in the Group Three contest. Youth Spirit galloped into unknown territory in the final three furlongs and emerged on the other side as a live outsider for the Derby, when Tom Marquand, his jockey, will hope to go one better than last season, when he steered the 66-1 shot Khalifa Sat into second on his debut ride in the Classic. Like Khalifa Sat, Youth Spirit runs in the white and green colours of Ahmad Al Shaikh, and he looks like a fair each-way price at around 25-1 for the Derby having stayed on strongly up Chester’s short home straight to beat Sandhurst by nearly two lengths. The pace looked stop-start through the first mile but rain-softened ground helped to ensure a true test for Andrew Balding’s colt. Thursday TV tips When Japan completed a quick Group One double in the International Stakes at York in August 2019, he would have been long odds to still be racing two seasons later, never mind opening a five-year-old campaign over an extended 13 furlongs in the Group Three Ormonde Stakes at Chester. The bottom line is that little has gone right for Japan since his win on the Knavesmire, though even in defeat – for instance, when four lengths behind Waldgeist in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October 2019 – the pick of his form puts him in a different league to Thursday’s opponents. But the question today is whether Japan will be able to run even close to that level first time up, over a new trip and on good-to-soft ground, and an early price of around 6-4 does not feel generous. Even after recent rain, the going may not be soft enough for Trueshan, who is conceding 5lb both to the favourite and Morando (3.15). Andrew Balding’s veteran was an impressive winner of this race two years ago on heavy ground but also has form on today’s good-to-soft. Chester 1.45 Front-running Jabbarockie will get plenty of support from stall one but Makanah may have been overlooked at around 10-1. Julie Camacho’s gelding ended 2020 with a career-best performance at Musselburgh, goes best when he can sit just off a strong pace and made a successful return to action in both 2020 and 2019. Chester 2.15 Aidan O’Brien has won six of the last eight runnings of the Dee Stakes and while Ontario, his only runner in this year’s renewal, has a single win in a maiden to his name from eight outings, the son of Galileo has yet to race beyond a mile. He was twice placed in Group Two company as a juvenile and should be an improver over middle distances this year, starting with today’s step up to 10 furlongs. Worcester 2.30 Dancingwith Storms had been off for nearly two years before returning to action with second-place finishes in March and April. He can race off the same mark here, has form on decent ground and clearly gets on well with promising conditional Caoilin Quinn. Chester 2.45 It does not feel right to back a runner from stall nine at this track but it is the only real negative about Ralph Beckett’s Aleas as he attempts to back up his big improvement to win a nursery at Kempton Park in November. Rossa Ryan has been in the saddle for his two wins so far and Aleas will take some catching if his rider can trap well and settle on or near the pace. Chester 3.45 Spirit Dancer showed little on his return to action at Newbury last month but his run to finish fifth on soft ground at York is one of several last season that read well against today’s opponents. A draw in stall two is a positive too.