The Irish Challenge is strong across Epsom's Derby weekend The eyes of the racing world turn to Epsom this weekend for one of the most prestigious meetings of the season, with Irish-trained runners set to play a major role across all three Group 1 contests. From the Oaks and Coronation Cup on Friday to the Derby itself on Saturday, Ireland is strongly represented by leading trainers, jockeys and owners, ensuring that there will be no shortage of interest from this side of the Irish Sea as the action unfolds. The Oaks The Epsom Oaks market has been steady throughout the weeks, and looking at Epsom this weekend with a view to the Irish runners, we are well represented throughout all the Group 1 races. In the Oaks, we see the Aidan O'Brien-trained Amelia Earhart at the top of the betting at 2-1. With a focus on Irish runners, we also have to look at the fact that Colin Keane, who has been a numerous-time champion jockey over in Ireland, now has the Juddmonte job and he will ride Legacy Link for John Gosden, who was an impressive winner of the Musidora in York on her latest start. There has been money throughout the last few weeks for Thundering On, who was an impressive winner of an Oaks trial in Navan for the Joseph O'Brien team. We can't forget about Cameo either, who won the Lingfield Oaks Trial. These two horses although having bigger odds than both Amelia Earhart and Legacy Link, I am going to tentatively remove Precise from the Oaks conversation as I feel she will bypass this contest with a view to the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot. It looks as if the Oaks is going to be an incredibly interesting race, but it looks like Amelia Earhart has been the most impressive this season when winning her trial, beating the once-favourite for the Oaks, I'm The One, in Chester on her first start. It's also interesting that she wears not one but two pieces of headgear, as there have been question marks over her attitude in the past. Coronation Cup Taking a sharp focus on the Group 1 Coronation Cup, what a race it served up last year with Jan Brueghel and Calandagan. They were nip and tuck for the last furlong and Jan Brueghel proved he is as tough as anything and managed to win. Since then, Calandagan has been nothing but impressive in all of his starts and it looks like he has transformed into an even better horse since that race. Jan Brueghel returned to the racecourse in Chester where he was impressive when victorious in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes. We also have last year's winner of the Epsom & Irish Derby, Lambourn, who got back to winning ways in Chester and sits near the top end of the market. That looks like it's going to be an extremely interesting race. The Derby Finally, we look at the Epsom Derby, one of the most famous races in the world, and there's an array of talent in the field. We're looking at the likes of Benvenuto Cellini, who was extremely impressive when winning the Chester Vase, and the son of Frankel looks like he has all the attributes needed to win an Epsom Derby. He has a big powerful stride and he has undoubted ability to match the current 2/1 odds that follow his name into the race. Looking at Colin Keane, he rides Item for Andrew Balding and Juddmonte. Item was an impressive winner of the Dante Stakes and he really could be anything. He is three from three. Keeping a focus on the Irish-trained horses, we also have Pierre Bonnard, who Aidan O'Brien has stuck with on a loyal basis after he was beaten in two trials this year, but Aidan is still adamant about the horse's top-class ability. He was a Group 1 winner as a two-year-old in France and maybe if a switch up in tactics were used we may see this horse to a greater effect in Epsom. A feel-good story in the race would be that of James J. Braddock, trained by Joseph O'Brien and owned by Kevin Blake. He is now part-owned by Blake and Aziz Kheir, and he looks like he could have a right chance as the step up in distance will definitely suit him. He was victorious over Pierre Bonnard in Leopardstown and through this performance he definitely looks like a horse that will relish all that the Epsom Derby has to offer.
