A look ahead to the Derby on Saturday

Jockey Declan McDonogh expects an "improved" Little White Cloud to benefit from the step up in trip in Saturday's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

McDonogh, in his first season as stable jockey to Little White Cloud's trainer John Oxx, feels a mile and a half should be well within the son of Dalakhani's compass.

Having won a Dundalk maiden in November, the grey has finished third in the Derrinstown Derby Trial and second in the Gallinule Stakes, where he was behind subsequent Royal Ascot winner Leading Light.

"Stepping up to a mile and a half should really suit him being from the same family as Millenary and all those good stayers," McDonogh told At The Races.

"He put up a good show against Leading Light, who went and won the Queen's Vase. He's tough and he handles fast ground, so hopefully they won't get too much rain.

"I think he'll run a good race.

"He wasn't far behind Battle Of Marengo (in the Derrinstown) and we think he's improved a lot since then, the trip should be right up his street and he should run a good race."

Little White Cloud is one of nine declared runners for the Classic, along with unbeaten Epsom hero Ruler Of The World.

Unraced as a juvenile, Aidan O'Brien's colt won the Investec Derby on just his third start and will clash again with the placed runners from that day.

Epsom second Libertarian will have his final start for Elaine Burke after being bought by Godolphin, while David Wachman's Galileo Rock will try to improve on his third place.

Libertarian was supplemented for the race earlier in the week along with Godolphin second-string and likely pacemaker Cap O'Rushes, who is trained by Saeed bin Suroor.

Another contender having his final run for his current stable is Patrick Prendergast's Sugar Boy, winner of the Sandown Classic Trial in April.

He finished in front of both Libertarian and Galileo Rock that day and has had this race as his target since then.

He was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum on Tuesday and will move to an as-yet unspecified trainer after this race.

Jim Bolger will be represented by Trading Leather, second in the Dante to Libertarian and third in the Irish 2,000 Guineas.

O'Brien, who has won the last seven renewals of the race and 10 in total, also runs Festive Cheer, with Pat Shanahan's Ralston Road, eighth in the Queen's Vase last week, completing the field.

Racecourse manager Paul Hensey said: "We had a bit of rain at the weekend and just under 3.5mm this morning and I reckon we'll be starting the meeting, certainly on the straight course, on good ground.

"It's a cracking race, you can make a case for five or six with the first three from Epsom, Trading Leather, Sugar Boy and Little White Cloud."

Johnny Murtagh, now a trainer as well as still a leading jockey, won on two of O'Brien's winners, Fame And Glory and Cape Blanco, as well as Oxx's Alamshar, and he has a sneaking feeling Little White Cloud could outrun his odds, but thinks the favourite will be hard to beat.

"I think it's an open enough Derby, there's a couple of horses there with not much between them," said Murtagh.

"The Godolphin horse (Libertarian) has a few lengths to make up on Aidan's, obviously, but Aidan's horses always seem to improve a little bit when they get back to the Curragh.

"Little White Cloud is a horse I rode for John and I always thought he was an Irish Derby horse, a mile and a half, fast ground, the Curragh - that might suit him. Whether he's good enough to win it, I don't know, but he'll run a good race.

"You have to respect Trading Leather, he's another one that loves fast ground and seems to like the Curragh, so it's going to be a very competitive race.

"I suppose if you had to pick one it would be the horse that won the Epsom Derby - it's the best race and the form always carries through."