'This rain that is coming will certainly be welcome for James J Braddock' - Kevin Blake speaks to Niall Tierney

In the 1930s, America was home to a famous boxer named James J Braddock, known for his rags-to-riches story in which he never allowed disappointment to derail his career before becoming world champion.

Fast forward to 2026, and with a view on the Epsom Derby, a race dominated by the best bloodlines and the highest-priced horses, we see the re-emergence of another potential fairytale story with James J Braddock.

The son of Zarak will be partnered by Dylan Browne McMonagle this Saturday from stall 13, which has seen two previous winners, so the dream is starting to become a reality for joint owners Kevin Blake and prominent Australian figure Aziz Kheir.

Speaking to Kevin about the Derby, it was great to hear that James J Braddock has come out of his Derby Trial victory in Leopardstown so well.

Derby hopes alive for Blake and Kheir

Blake said of his chances: "Since Leopardstown, all has been brilliant. No hiccups, no hint of a hiccup.

“The horse has been in great shape and did his last stronger bit of work on Saturday, and everything's been really good.

“Dylan sat on him and was delighted. He described him as a very happy horse, which is what you love to hear. So, no concerns whatsoever so far with his prep.

“He'll travel on Thursday afternoon. Everything's going really smoothly. All this rain that is coming will certainly be welcome for him.

“In his career so far, I guess he's just improved every time he's stepped onto the track, which is all you can ask."

Credentials of a Derby horse

“If we're looking back at it now, I think he was just a little bit too raw for the Ballysax. It was his first run out of maiden company.

“He'd had two runs at two. When he won at the Curragh, he won by a long way. He was up there the whole way, didn't come through horses, and came up the middle of the track by himself. So he probably didn't get a real thorough education as a two-year-old. Certainly not as good an education as the likes of Pierre Bonnard and some of that opposition would have had.”

“So I guess he was entitled to be a bit raw in the Ballysax. He was sharper in the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, but still I thought there was evidence there that he was still learning.

“It took him a little while to get organised once Dylan got him out, and his last furlong was his best, which you love to see. So he looks like he's progressing mentally.

“And physically, he's 16.1hh and 500 kilos, he's a fine horse. Epsom examines a horse in every way, from temperament through to the physical tests of the track.

“We feel that he's ready for the challenge and everything that the race and everything around it presents. So hopefully he will be.

“I'm fully cognisant of what the chances are of anyone getting a Derby horse. There's people spending tens and tens and tens of millions trying to get a very good middle-distance horse that could be a Derby horse and not getting them.

“So for us to have got in with a €40,000 yearling and to have got to this point is just once-in-a-lifetime stuff, really.

“I'm definitely not taking it for granted, not a second of it. I'm going to try not to let the nerves get the better of me and enjoy every second of it."

O’Brien done ‘magnificent’ job

“So much of this is all about Joseph O' Brien, really. He picked out the horse, he bought him, he's trained him.

“He's done a magnificent job every step of the way. I've just been fortunate to have been on board, I suppose, from a very early stage with him.

“It's great that Aziz Kheir and his friends have got involved. They're getting a massive kick out of it."

Australia behind him

“Aziz has been involved in two Melbourne Cup winners in the last decade or so. Just speaking to him the other day, he said he hasn't got as many phone calls from the press and general well-wishers about a horse ever, even with fancied Melbourne Cup runners.

“I think Australia is getting a real thrill out of an Australian connection to the Derby. I don't believe there's ever been an Australian owner that's won the Derby, so it's a big deal from their point of view too.

“We're all just massively excited, can't wait to get there and live it because it's the sort of thing we all dream of. The odds are so big of it ever happening. The fact that it looks like we're going to get there and hopefully get to see it happen is huge.

“So fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly between now and then, and we'll hopefully have an experience to remember, whatever happens. But look, I think he's got the credentials to go and make us proud, so fingers crossed."