Ballydoyle holds strong hand for yet another Irish Derby
win
Even allowing for the obvious outstanding prospects of Camelot in Saturday’s
Group 1 Irish Derby, the reading of recent alumni of the Curragh classic confirm
the impression that there is no plausible place to look for the winner other
than Ballydoyle.
Setting a record 12 months ago when saddling a sixth consecutive winner,
Aidan O’Brien also engineered an unprecedented fourth one-two-three in the race
since 2002, and few would rule out another special trifecta this time. Camelot’s
credentials are clear for all to see and, despite ground concerns, a defeat for
the first Group 1 Two Thousand Guineas/Group 1 Derby winner to attempt this
treble since Nijinsky in 1970 will be a major shock. Should the conditions
undermine the Montjeu colt’s natural elan, his stablemate Imperial Monarch and
Epsom third Astrology Galileo are in line to pick up the pieces.
“Camelot is a very good-actioned horse, and although he won the Guineas on
slowish ground, it was lovely fast ground at Epsom,” O’Brien noted when
interviewed on RTE Radio. “We would obviously have concerns if it went very soft
and it is not ideal so the more it dries out, the better it is for him. He’s
always shown a lot of speed, class and courage and is just one of those unique
horses that come along very rarely.”
In any other year, Imperial Monarch would hold strong claims of classic glory
following an encouraging win in the Group 3 Sandown Classic Trial on April 28
and a luckless trip in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly June 3. Like
the 2010 hero Cape Blanco, the son of Galileo bids to put a no-show in the
“French Derby” firmly behind him, but O’Brien will have a close look at him
after he gave connections a late scare.
“We hope to run Imperial Monarch, but when we were shoeing him, he just had a
slight little pulse in his foot,” the horseman explained. “We hope that doesn’t
turn into anything.”
Astrology, whose solid Derby effort came on the back of an 11-length success
in the Group 3 Dee Stakes run on deep ground at Chester May 11, has since
disappointed when nearly 10-lengths fourth as the 8-11 favorite in the Group 2
King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. That came only eight days ago, but such
is the Ballydoyle trainer’s skill at getting his horses back from poor runs
quickly it is almost an irrelevance. It is also worth remembering that five of
the stable’s last six winners had been placed or worse at Epsom before taking
the necessary step forward in this classic.
St Jovite provided Jim Bolger with an unforgettable day here 20 years ago and
the guru of Coolcullen covets another victory. The admirable Light Heavy has his
work cut out on the formbook though. Neither his 2 1/2-length defeat of Call to
Battle in the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes on April 15 nor his neck margin over Tower
Rock in the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial on May 13 — both staged over
10 furlongs at Leopardstown — are strong enough performances to suggest that
the Teofilo chestnut will shake up Camelot. What he does have in his favor is an
aptitude for battle and it is impossible to rule out how much improvement Bolger
can eke out at this trip.
“He’d prefer better ground, I’m sure, but I’d imagine that will be the case
with most of them,” Bolger told PA Sport. “He’s unbeaten this year and goes
there in good form. He’s won his trials and down the years they’ve been a good
pointer to Epsom and the Curragh. I’m sure he’ll give a good account of
himself.”
Moyglare Stud’s Speaking of Which is still an uncertain starter according to
the operation’s manager Stan Cosgrove.
“We’re just not sure about the trip in the soft ground,” Cosgrove told PA
Sport. “We’ll make a final decision tomorrow morning. The thing is we don’t want
to mess him up long-term by running him on really bad ground, so we’ll just have
to see.”
The Curragh’s manager Paul Hensey is expecting a mainly dry lead-up to
Saturday’s feature.
“It is soft, heavy in places, but it’s a lovely bright day today so it should
be soft by the start of the meeting,” he said Friday morning.
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