Harzand to relish heavy going in Derby trial at Leopardstown

It is debatable how relevant to Epsom in June ground conditions that a Grand National contender might baulk at will ultimately prove to be although they could prove very relevant indeed to Harzand landing Ireland’s first significant Derby trial of the season at Leopardstown on Sunday.

Dermot Weld’s runner, like Aidan O’Brien’s three runners, and Jim Bolger’s unbeaten Moonlight Magic, will hope to build on an Epsom Derby entry with success in the PW McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes.

It is well over a decade since this Group Three produced a hat-trick of Derby heroes three years in a row but its capacity to produce a quality winner was underlined by the 2014 victory of Weld’s Fascinating Rock.

That subsequent Champion Stakes winner continues to relish softer ground and with heavy going forecast, and an unsettled weather outlook, his younger stable companion, Harzand, should be a major contender after winning a maiden by 16 lengths in a near-bog at Cork last month.

The unsettled nature of the Derby picture was underlined when a narrow maiden success for US Army Ranger last weekend saw him catapulted clear at the top of the Epsom ante-post market.

Good style

In comparison,

Johannes Vermeer

, a Group One Criterium International winner, is 25-1 for the Derby but Aidan O’Brien has opted to run that colt in the Listed 2,000 Guineas Trial earlier on the card so

Ryan Moore

teams up with Cook Islands in the Ballysax.

That colt won his maiden at Navan in good style but this going will be nothing like he has faced before, a comment that also applies to the Eyrefield winner, Moonlight Magic, a son of the retired stallion, Cape Cross.

Harzand in contrast is proven on this extreme surface and looks to have progressed significantly from two to three. The Aga Khan's colt is 66-1 for Epsom at the moment and can step up in grade this weekend.

Johannes Vermeer has to concede 3lbs to True Solitaire who he beat a length and a half here over ‘Champions Weekend’ last September.

What could prove a crucial difference is the O’Brien trained colt subsequently won at the top level on heavy ground in France and the Ballydoyle team as a whole appear relatively more forward this Spring.

Kieren Fallon got off the mark for the season at Limerick on Thursday and the former British champion jockey will hope to secure Group Three success for his new boss, Michael O'Callaghan, aboard Now Or Never in the 1,000 Guineas Trial.

Moore has picked Alice Springs for this race but she will hardly relish this sort of going.

There could be Derby clues too in the opening maiden and although Stellar Mass has had plenty of chances to date it's worth noting how he was added to the Derby at the second-entry stage by Jim Bolger during the week.

The Dermot Weld team have a handful of runners at Gowran's Saturday fixture where ground conditions continue to be monitored after the track passed an inspection on Friday morning.

Radanpour has a job on ratings in the four-runner finale but should be OK on testing surfaces while Harbinger's half brother, Pietro Testa, should relish a step up to a mile and a half for the maiden.