Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Preview

Benvenuto Cellini heads a four-pronged challenge from Ballydoyle as Aidan O’Brien bids to land the €1,250,000 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby for a fourth successive year and bring his record-breaking winning tally in the race to 18.

The son of Frankel impressed in the Chester Vase but disappointed at Epsom where he struggled on the soft ground and was subsequently declared a non-runner after losing some ground when his leg was on a shelf in the stalls when the gates opened.

“Ryan has stayed on Benvenuto Cellini. I wasn’t sure that he would, but he was happy to do that,” said O’Brien. “He’s a beautiful mover and soft ground was never his thing, as we knew from running him in Doncaster last year, but it was the way it fell.

“There are different things that we think could change the result completely from Epsom — ground, the thing in the stalls and where he ended up in the race. Ryan wanted to stay on him, so obviously he is putting a line through that run in his head.”

O’Brien confirmed Benvenuto Cellini has been given some extensive stalls training since Epsom adding, “He’s done a lot of stalls work — the lads have done a lot with him. We’ll probably try to load a little bit later I’d imagine because he just has a habit of lifting his hind legs and putting them out.

“We saw what happened at Epsom, he came out on three legs and even after taking a stride his leg was still up there, which is a very unusual thing and had to be a disadvantage obviously.”

Christmas Day, meanwhile, has the opportunity to follow emulate Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Camelot (2012), Australia (2014), Auguste Rodin (2023) and Lambourn (2025) by becoming a dual Derby winner for O’Brien, with winning jockey Ronan Whelan keeping the ride.

O’Brien, who also saddles Epsom also-rans Pierre Bonnard and Action, said: “I don’t think it (better ground) is a problem to Christmas Day. He stays very well, he’s a good-moving horse who will have no problem going further than a mile and a half.

“He does handle soft ground because he stays so well, but I think he’s a lovely straightforward horse and everybody will know that they’re following him.”

Aidan’s son Joseph O’Brien is represented by James J Braddock, who was unruly before the Derby at Epsom but still managed to finish third.

“The Curragh is a very different test to Epsom, and I feel like it won’t inconvenience us and he’s proved he can go on better ground,” said the Owning Hill handler.

“For some horses it (behaviour at Epsom) would be a big red flag but he’s a pretty hardy customer and although he hadn’t behaved like that to that extent before, it is something that he has in his arsenal, so I wasn’t wildly surprised.

“Sometimes with horses that can be a little bit fiery, a bit of adrenaline in their system isn’t the worst thing in the world. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t a huge shock and I’m happy that we can focus his mind a little bit better next time.”

The potential fly in the ointment is the Owen Burrows-trained Raaheeb, an unbeaten full-brother to the top-class pair of Baaeed and Hukum.

The Lambourn handler was cool on a tilt at the Derby at Epsom in the immediate aftermath of his impressive victory in the Sandown Classic Trial in late April and a minor setback ultimately ruled him out in any case.

He belatedly gets his chance to bid for Classic glory and Burrows is relishing the challenge, saying: “Derby runners don’t come around very often and it’s exciting to be involved.

“It was nothing major after Sandown, he just feels a run. He had to have a couple of quiet weeks afterwards, but he’s not missed a beat all the way through since.

“The whole razzmatazz of what Epsom were trying to do might not have been his bag and as it was he made the decision for us, so it was made easy.”

When asked whether he felt Raaheeb had progressed since Sandown, Burrows added: “He’s the same as what he always is — he never overdoes himself at home, he’s pretty relaxed and does his work without blowing you away.

“Rossa (Ryan) came and sat on him a couple of weeks ago and he did a nice piece of work on the grass, he was happy and I’m happy, but I can’t tell you he’s come forward massively because that’s not him.

“He’s obviously only ran the twice so he’s still inexperienced compared to one or two of these, but with his pedigree and the fact he won one of the Derby trials, we felt he deserved to have a crack.

“I’ve no qualms about the mile and a half at all, to be honest — I’d be amazed if I was saying afterwards ‘he didn’t quite get home’.”

The eight-runner line-up is completed by the Richard Hannon-trained Bunyola Bay, who won the valuable Irish Stallion Farms EBF Gowran Classic earlier this month, and Donnacha O’Brien’s Shaihaan, third here last time in the Group 3 Heider Family Stables Gallinule Stakes.