This Saturday the in-form Ryan Moore will team up with Tuesday to try and finally break his duck in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
It is going to be Moore’s 10th attempt to win the €1 million Curragh highlight and complete his set of English and Irish classics.
Tuesday gave the English jockey a 14th English classic when successful in the Oaks at Epsom earlier this month and was, as anticipated, given a free supplementary entry into the Irish Derby at the latest acceptance stage.
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As an Oaks winner she was entitled to free entry under the Curragh’s ‘Win & You’re In’ scheme.
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Her presence injects important star power to Ireland’s premier classic as Aidan O’Brien bids to win a 15th Irish Derby but for a first time with a filly. Just three fillies in all have won the race in the last 121 years, the last of them Balanchine in 1994.
O’Brien has tried to win the Derby before with an Oaks winner when Qualify finished out of the money behind Jack Hobbs in 2015.
He also ran the filly Strawberry Roan, ridden by Frankie Dettori, in the 1997 Derby when she was unplaced behind her stable companion Desert King.
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Ryan Moore has won every other Curragh classic at least twice, but the Derby has remained frustratingly elusive for a jockey who topped the leading rider table at Royal Ascot last week.
In nine previous attempts he was runner up on Idaho in 2016 and on Anthony Van Dyck in 2019. He has also been third on three occasions although he beat only one home a year ago on the favourite High Definition.
Another champion jockey hoping for a first Irish Derby is Colin Keane who has come in for the plum ride on the long-time favourite Westover.
Unlucky in running in third to Desert Crown at Epsom, Westover will now be ridden by Keane after regular rider Rob Hornby was replaced by owners Juddmonte Farms.
“Rob Hornby is an integral part of the team in Ralph Beckett’s, has done a wonderful job with Westover and I thought he gave him a beautiful ride in Epsom,” said the Juddmonte spokesman, Barry Mahon.
“Our decision is purely down to Colin’s experience and experience of the Curragh and Curragh classics. What better man than a three-time Irish champion jockey who has won an Irish 2,000 Guineas and an Irish Oaks to get on board?
“He knows the track inside out and hopefully that will be a help to Westover. We just felt, for this race anyway, that he’s an able deputy,” he added.
A total of 16 horses remain in the Derby after Tuesday’s acceptance stage with Aidan O’Brien also leaving in four colts.
They include Stone Age but he is more likely to wait for the following Saturday’s Eclipse at Sandown.
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Initial reaction by some firms was to flip the betting and install Tuesday as a 6-4 favourite, a move that didn’t surprise the Westover camp.
“She’s a top class filly who has been placed in two Guineas and won an Oaks and is bred in the purple. So she’s going to be a formidable opponent, especially with the 3lbs allowance. I think her inclusion is going to guarantee a very good race,” Barry Mahon commented.
A Ladbrokes spokesperson said: “The addition of Tuesday to the Irish Derby has really spiced up the race and from a betting perspective, it looks very competitive between the front two.
“Before today’s decs, all the money was for Westover, but with Tuesday’s participation, it will be interesting to see where punters’ allegiances lie. We think the filly’s form looks that bit stronger hence making her favourite.”
Joseph O’Brien, twice successful as a jockey, and who also saddled Latrobe to win in 2018, has three Derby options this time including Buckaroo and the Gallinule winner Hannibal Barca.
