O'Brien very happy with his Derby team Aidan O'Brien is in no rush to finalise Investec Derby plans with still nine possible runners for the premier Epsom classic after 20 horses were left in at the latest entry stage. Team Ballydoyle have swept all before them in the trials, with Fame And Glory winning the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial and Black Bear Island edging out stablemate Freemantle in the Dante at York. The likes of Rip Van Winkle and Age Of Aquarius give O'Brien's Derby squad further strength in depth, and the trainer is just delighted to be in such a strong position. 'The horses have run well and the ones who ran early improved from their first run to their second run,' O'Brien told At The Races. 'The ones that didn't win their trials still ran well so it's so far so good. We'll just see what will happen in the next week or ten days. Everyone is saying that Fame And Glory was the most impressive winner, and obviously we see the same as everybody else sees.' If Rip Van Winkle takes his chance it will be his first outing since finishing fourth in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, and also his first run over further than a mile. 'Rip Van Winkle ran in the Guineas and we were very happy with his run. He had a very interrupted preparation for the Guineas and ran a real good race,' O'Brien continued. 'Since then he pulled off a shoe and was a little bit tender for a few days but other than that everything was fine with him. He's a very balanced horse with a lot of natural speed. He's got a great stride and is a very determined horse, so you wouldn't think there should be any problems with Epsom.' Black Bear Island's defeat of stablemate Freemantle at York was something of a surprise for punters, and both horses are still under consideration for Epsom. "We liked Black Bear Island a lot last year. He had a run in France first time this year and Johnny (Murtagh) was very happy with him in what was a very slowly run race. We thought that he would come forward from that and he did. The horse Johnny rode in the Dante, Freemantle, ran a great race as well and he should come forward from that run too.' O'Brien also took the Lingfield Derby trial thanks to an all-the-way success for Age Of Aquarius, while Golden Sword and Masterofthehorse gave him a one-two in the Chester Vase. 'We were very happy with Age Of Aquarius at Lingfield. We knew there wasn't going to be much pace and Johnny gave him a lovely ride from the front. We were over the moon with that and he came out of it great. There could be a big jump from him from that run,' he continued. 'We're very happy with Masterofthehorse. Last year we felt we'd maybe trained him a little bit too hard for the Racing Post Trophy, so this year we trained him more cautiously and rode him back a little bit. We were very happy with his run behind Golden Sword at Chester - we were really happy with both of them.' 'They are all very eligible Epsom horses at the moment but the decision on what runs is a little bit away still because they all have to go through their work. Everyone's input will be taken on board but we are in a privileged position to have horses that have come through their trials the way they have.'
