Godolphin’s colorbearer Jack Hobbs (Halling), second only to his peerless stablemate Golden Horn (Cape Cross)
thus far, gets his chance to shine away from that barnmate in Saturday’s 150th renewal of the Irish Derby
(Ire-G1) at The Curragh.
Making great strides since his Wolverhampton debut win six months ago, the bay has form that stands up to the closest inspection, having won a decent
10-furlong handicap at Sandown by 12 lengths on April 24 and chased home Golden Horn in both
the May 14 Dante S. (Eng-G2) at York and Epsom Derby (Eng-G1) on June 6.
Trainer John Gosden has
always made public that the handsome bay is a long-term project, but he is keen to go
again while his homework remains of the highest order.
“He’s a tall, rangy horse and
he’ll be having a nice break after this until the autumn, as I wouldn’t want to race him on
through the summer,” Gosden explained. “I think a galloping track like The Curragh
should suit him well. He worked last Saturday and I was very happy. He worked with a lead horse
and Robert Havlin rode him; he was nicely clear on the bridle at the end.”
Aidan O’Brien has a remarkable record in the Irish Derby, with a
record 11 editions going his way including eight of the last nine. Highland Reel (Galileo) takes the route used by
the 2010 hero Cape Blanco by coming
in off the May 31 Prix du Jockey Club (Fr-G1) at Chantilly. Second to French
Derby winner New Bay (Dubawi),
Derrick Smith’s representative looked as if this step up to 1 1/2 miles would suit, and he remains largely unexposed.
Like the stable’s past winners Soldier of Fortune and Frozen Fire, Giovanni Canaletto (Galileo)
and Kilimanjaro (High Chaparral) bid to turn around out-of-the-frame
efforts in the Derby, where they finished fourth and sixth, respectively.
The former had
previously been second to Curvy (Galileo) in the May 24 Gallinule S. (Ire-G3)
going 10
furlongs at The Curragh and that form looks stronger now that the winner has upstaged Pleascach
(Teofilo) at Royal Ascot in the Ribblesdale S. (Eng-G2). Along with June 5 Epsom Oaks
(Eng-G1) winner Qualify (Fastnet Rock), they form a potent team for Ballydoyle.
“Highland Reel will step up another quarter of a mile, but we were happy with him in
France last time and we’ve been happy with him since,” O’Brien said. “We always thought
(Qualify) was a
really nice filly and we always knew the minute she went beyond a mile, there was the
possibility she would really step up and Epsom was the first time she went beyond a mile. We
were obviously delighted with that and look forward to Saturday.
“Giovanni Canaletto is in good form,” the trainer continued.
“We felt Epsom was maybe coming a little too quick for him, but he came out of the
race well and we look forward to seeing him run again on Saturday. Kilimanjaro ran a nice race at Epsom and The Curragh might suit him better than Epsom.”
His Highness The Aga Khan’s unbeaten June 5 listed King George V Cup scorer Radanpour (Sea the Stars) is the unknown quantity of the race, and jockey Pat Smullen is under no illusions as to his task.
“He’d probably want a drop of rain and hopefully they’ll keep plenty of water on, as he just wants a bit of ease in the ground,”
Smullen noted. “It’s definitely a big step up for him, but he’s been very consistent and deserves to take his chance. We’re all hoping for a good run, but on the figures Radanpour has to improve a lot.”
Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum’s Storm the Stars (Sea
the Stars) has 4 1/2 lengths to find with Jack Hobbs on his Epsom running, but
the May 22 listed Cocked Hat S. winner is another who looks set to progress as the
season wears on.
“The horse is very well and we came to the conclusion if we didn’t run, he
couldn’t win,” trainer William Haggas said. “John’s horse looked marvelous before the
Derby at Epsom and ran a pretty good race, so he’ll be hard to beat. Then you have an Oaks
winner, a few more of Aidan’s and an unbeaten horse of Dermot Weld’s, so it’s not going
to be straightforward, but then it is an Irish Derby.”
The Irish Derby will enjoy a purse boost to €1.5 million next year, with
Dubai Duty Free extending its sponsorship a further two years. The agreement also gives
Dubai Duty Free the option to extend their sponsor to 2020 at the end of the current
contract. Dubai Duty Free has been the title sponsor of the Irish Derby since 2008 and has
helped The Curragh make its signature weekend into a major sporting and social
festival.
Earlier on the card, the Railway S. (Ire-G2) sees Log
Out Island (Dark Angel) return just nine days after his defeat in Royal
Ascot’s Norfolk S. (Eng-G2), with trainer Richard Hannon hoping he has read the colt’s signals right.
Second to Ballydoyle’s Waterloo Bridge (Zoffany) in that five-furlong contest, Godolphin’s acquisition — who had been impressive winning
his April 29 debut over that course and distance — steps up in trip here.
“It looks a good opportunity for him at Group 2 level, so we decided we’d let him take his chance,”
Hannon said. “It does come up quite quick, but he’s only really had the one race in his life and I really want to see him run over six furlongs. We are taking a chance with him slightly and hopefully it doesn’t come too quick, but if it does we can give him a break and bring him back for the
(Listed) Winkfield S. at Ascot at the end of July.”
O’Brien has a total of
11 winners to his tally so far and relies on June 18 Leopardstown maiden winner
Painted Cliffs (Canford Cliffs), who had finished eighth on debut in a hot race won by
stablemate and subsequent Coventry S. (Eng-G2) runner-up Air Force Blue (War Front) over
Saturday’s track and six-furlong trip on May 24. In that contest, the
re-opposing Rockaway Valley (Holy
Roman Emperor) was a neck second, and he has since won impressively over the
same course and distance on June 7.
“We knew he was pretty smart the first day but the penny
just didn’t drop, but the second day he was really professional,” trainer Jessica
Harrington remarked about Rockaway Valley. “Saturday’s race is a really good renewal and they are all hard to win,
but I hope he has improved a bit. He is a very laid-back horse which is brilliant, because he
only does what he has to do at home.”
“I’m not too worried about the ground,” she added. “It was pretty quick when he won there the last day and he’s a good-moving horse.”
Argentero (Zoffany) has been beaten only by the smart Round Two (Teofilo) in three starts at Naas and comes into this on the back of an
authoritative win in the listed Rochestown S. there at the start of the month.
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