Sea The Stars will stay Derby trip, says Michael Kinane

Veteran jockey Michael Kinane is increasingly confident about 2,000 Guineas winner Sea The Stars following up in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

If he does, the John Oxx-trained colt will become the first horse since Nashwan in 1989 to do the Classic double.

Available at a best-priced 7-2 with Coral and William Hill, there are doubts that Sea The Stars will stay the mile-and-a-half trip, because his father, Cape Cross, has produced mainly horses bred for speed rather than stamina.

But Kinane, who won the Derby aboard Commander In Chief (1993) and Galileo (2001) and celebrates his 50th birthday a fortnight after the big race, reads the pedigree differently.

"You can beat a lot of things but you can't beat breeding. He's a half-brother to not only the best Derby winner I've ridden but the best Derby winner for a long time in Galileo," he told the Daily Mail.

"This is one of the best bred horses in Europe. Don't forget, Cape Cross also sired Ouija Board, who won the Oaks. That should be a nice influence on what is a stamina-laden pedigree."

Meanwhile, Crowded House, the winter ante-post favourite for the Derby, is likely to miss the race.

Trainer Brian Meehan will make a final decision on the colt's participation later today but he has missed work since disappointing in the Dante Stakes at York last month.