Darsi Bids For Big Derby Double 13 horses are set to face the starter in the ?1.5 million Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday.French Derby winner, Darsi, trained by Alain Royer-Dupre, looks likely to start favourite to complete the Derby double. Carrying the famous colours of H.H. The Aga Khan, Darsi will be bidding to give his owner a sixth victory in this prestigious event and will again have jockey Christophe Soumillon in the saddle. One of four supplementary entries for Sunday's race, Darsi will be trying to become the fifth French trained winner of this contest since Winged Love triumped in 1995 and one of his main market rivals is likely to be another French raider, Best Name, trained by Robert Collet, who finished runner up to him in the French Derby. The third French trained raider is Andre Fabre's recent Italian Derby winner, Gentlewave, who will be aiming to give his trainer a third success while his rider, Johnny Murtagh, also bids for a third victory having scored on Sinndar in 2000 and Alamshar three years later. Geoff Wragg's Dragon Dancer, who came so close to winning the English Derby at Epsom in early June, heads the English challenge with Sir Michael Stoute's Best Alibi, and David Elsworth's Classic Punch, the other raiders from across the Irish Sea. Henry Cecil's, Commander In Chief, was the last English trained winner of the race in 1993 while Dragon Dancer will try and become the first maiden to win the race in many, many years. Trainer Aidan O'Brien has won the Budweiser Irish Derby on three occasions and his Dylan Thomas heads the home defence. A close up third to Sir Percy in the English equivalent four weeks ago, Dylan Thomas is joined by stablemates, Puerto Rico, a good winner of the Gallinule Stakes at the Curragh in late May, and Mountain. Jim Bolger has won the race before with St Jovite in 1992 and runs recent Silver Stakes winner, Heliostatic, while the field is completed by David Wachman's Cougar Bay, John Hayden's Monsieur Henri and Robbie Osborne's Land Before Time.
