Ebanoran has Oxx hopeful John Oxx is quietly confident Ebanoran can give a good account of himself in the Investec Derby at Epsom. The Aga Khan-owned three-year-old produced a career-best effort to pass the post first in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown, but was demoted to second in the stewards' room behind Dermot Weld's Fascinating Rock, who also goes to Epsom. A son of Oasis Dream, Ebanoran relished the step up to 10 furlongs at the Foxrock venue and his Currabeg trainer is not unduly concerned about the prospect of soft ground in the colts' Classic. He told At The Races: "It's so far, so good. He's in good shape. He takes his races very well - he's tough and hardy and needs plenty of work. "He has a few more bits of work to go and hopefully we'll have him there in good shape to run a good race." Asked if he had any concerns about the ground, Oxx said: "Not really, he goes on anything. He's only run three times, so I suppose it's early days, but at the moment I don't think he has any particular ground preference. "He's a good horse, he has a rating of 113 at this stage - I think Sinndar had 115 or 116 (after the Derrinstown) and Alamshar much the same, so he's not far off them. "It's not where they are in May, it's where they are in June that counts. "He's approached everything in a good manner, he's a calm horse and maybe he has a chance of improving."
