TOMORROW is Irish Derby day and as usual there will be a large selection of thoroughbreds rolling into the Curragh. This year, however, the emphasis is on young contenders as the Budweiser World Experience comes to Ireland after its hit success at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
Model Sophie Dahl, the grand big granddaughter of author Roald Dahl, will be judging the Most Creatively Dressed Person competition and there's no doubt she'll have plenty to pick from. Models Sonia, Reynolds, Nichole Lynch and Corina Grant will be there, as will John Leonard, manager of The Pod, retailer Pia Bang's twins, Christian and Simon Stokes, who both work in father Neil Stokes's restaurant, The Unicorn; barrister Adrian Hardiman's twins, Hugh and Owen, and Michael Heffernan, the young blood of the Dunnes Stores' clan.
The biggest celeb for many promises to be Burt Bacharach, the legendary songwriter and singer, fresh from a private performance tonight in the K Club. Burt, who is crazy about horse racing, slipped into the Derby incognito last year and pundits say he timed his sell-out concert in the National Concert Hall tonight to coincide with the Derby this year.
Ballykissangel stars (and partners in real life) Dervla Kirwan and Steven Tompkinson, as well as RTE's Ian Dempsey; The Pod's John Reynolds; Esat's Denis O'Brien and Reynard's Robbie and Martina Fox are all planning to make the trek to Kildare. Politicians will also be trooping there en masse, escaping from a long, hard week of negotiations; the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, Charlie McCreevy, Des O'Malley, Mary Harney, Ivan Yates and John Bruton are all expected to cause a quick on-course flutter.
The good news for Frankie Dettori fans is that the jockey secured an eleventh-hour ride when Aidan O'Brien supplemented Strawberry Roan at a cost of £70,000 earlier this week bringing Dettori on board for the Derby.