It’s seven years since Joseph O’Brien upset the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby odds with Latrobe and trend followers will be all over his chances of doing the same through Tennessee Stud in Sunday’s €1.25 million Curragh highlight.
A total of 10 colts are in Ireland’s premier Classic after Tuesday’s latest acceptance stage, topped by Lambourn, who is odds-on to become the 20th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double.
Aidan O’Brien has four others left in the big race, including Puppet Master, as he pursues a record-extending 17th Irish Derby success.
His son Joseph rode two of those past winners – Camelot (2012) and Australia (2014) – and memorably saddled Latrobe to win the race in 2018. Latrobe led home a quartet of Ballydoyle rivals on that occasion to win at odds of 14-1.
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Now the 32-year-old trainer is set to rely on Tennessee Stud, who was third to Lambourn at Epsom earlier this month.
Three of the last four Irish Derby winners – Hurricane Lane (2021), Westover (2022) and Los Angeles a year ago – had previously been third in the English equivalent.
“We were very proud of Tennessee Stud’s run in Epsom. He got back a little bit early, but he came home very strong. We are excited about a rematch with Lambourn and probably a couple of others,” Joseph O’Brien said.
“Tennessee Stud is open to a lot of improvement. His first run of the year was off an extended lay off, he came forward a lot from that run in Epsom where he ran a career best and we’d love if he could run another career best in the Curragh,” he added.
Tennessee Stud was a length behind runner-up Lazy Griff at Epsom and has another 3¾ lengths to find with Lambourn, who made virtually all the running in English racing’s “Blue Riband”.
However, bookmakers rate him the biggest threat to Lambourn, with Paddy Power making him a 5-2 second favourite.
The Lazy Griff team are also in the mix for Sunday’s race but must keep their fingers crossed for substantial rainfall later in the week.
Other cross-channel entries are the Ralph Beckett pair, Pride Of Arras and Sir Dinadan. The latter was runner-up to his stable companion Amiloc at Goodwood last month. Amiloc landed last week’s King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot. Beckett trained Westover to win the Irish Derby three years ago.
The other contender is Jessica Harrington’s Green Impact as the veteran Co Kildare trainer chases a first Derby victory. Like Sir Dinadan, Green Impact is owned by Marc Chan.
Selective watering continues at the Curragh in advance of the Derby Festival starting on Friday evening, although the weather outlook is uncertain.
“Speaking with Met Éireann this morning, the forecast is very unpredictable. There is rain forecast but amounts are very uncertain,” reported clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan.
“Tomorrow night, into Thursday, is forecast for the bulk of the rain and while that could be 3mm, it could also be 10mm, so they are very unsure. It is then due to be unseasonably windy on Friday but Saturday and Sunday doesn’t look too bad, at the moment,” he added.
Lazy Griff’s ownership, Middleham Park Racing, have other options if conditions don’t suit.
“It will probably be the Grand Prix de Paris if he doesn’t run. It’s the German Derby next week or the Grand Prix the week after; those are the options and France is more likely than Germany currently,” said a spokesman. “He doesn’t have to leave until Friday so we don’t have to decide until declarations.”
Sunday’s Classic programme will be a marathon nine-race card to facilitate World Pool betting. The first contest is due off at 1.15pm, with the finale at 5.55pm. Six of the nine races will be handicaps.
Saturday’s Group One highlight at the Curragh is the €300,000 Pretty Polly Stakes in which the Epsom Oaks runner-up, Whirl, is one of a handful of three-year-old fillies alongside 10 older rivals left in.
Th exciting English-based Estrange could take her chance against another cross-channel star in Kalpana. Andrew Balding’s filly also has an option on Sunday of the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in Paris.
Saturday’s main support is the Group Two Airlie Stud Stakes, which is set to see the unbeaten Lady Iman bid to extend her streak to four races. A Group Three winner at Naas on her last start, she previously beat the subsequent Queen Mary winner True Love at the Curragh.
In other news, next weekend’s Coral Eclipse at Sandown is shaping into an international affair with Andre Fabre keen to take on the top older horse Ombudsman and Aidan O’Brien’s Camille Pissarro with Sosie.
“Sosie is still on target for the Eclipse. He’s shown good form this season and the owners are keen to run him,” Fabre said of his triple Group One winner.
