The weather looks like cooperating enough with the Curragh to allow Australia fulfil his role as headline act for Saturday’s €1.25 million Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
Aidan O’Brien’s insistence that the brilliant Epsom Derby winner won’t be risked on home soil if ground conditions turn soft was at the back of most minds at HQ yesterday with the track officially “good to firm” and bathed in sunshine.
Although some showery activity is forecast for Wednesday and Thursday, likely amounts are not thought to be significant and the weather outlook is expected to brighten up again in time for the weekend action.
Just 16 horses have ever completed the Epsom-Curragh Derby double, and just four in the last 20 years. Only three horses, however, have tried to pull off the Classic double since the memorable hat-trick of Sinndar, Galileo and High Chaparral, with both North Light (2004) and Ruler Of The World (2013) coming up short. Camelot was the last to manage it in 2012.
Australia was trading at 1/3 with Paddy Power at one stage yesterday, with the Epsom runner-up, Kingston Hill, the only other horse quoted at 3/1.
‘Both are set to clash again at the Curragh although the complexion of the race overall will become clearer after tomorrow’s declaration stage where supplementary entries are possible.
Added to field
Officials at the Curragh yesterday weren’t ruling out the possibility that The Grey Gatsby, winner of the French Derby at the start of the month, might yet be added to the field since Kevin Ryan’s star is entitled to be supplemented at a cost of €50,000, half the usual €100,000 fee, as he is a Group One winner already this season.
The race may come too soon for John Gosden's impressive King Edward VII Stakes winner Eagle Top to be put into the Irish Derby but reports indicate Dermot Weld will take on Australia with Fascinating Rock and another local trainer, John Oxx, plans to run the unexposed Ponfeigh.
The focus yesterday, though, was on likely ground conditions for the Derby, often a major factor in a race which has been run on the softer side of good in four of the last seven years.
"Met Eireann are telling us to expect some showery activity on Wednesday and Thursday but it's to pick up again after that and if that's correct, well, you couldn't write away for it!" observed course manager Paul Hensey.
“We watered last Thursday and Friday and we’ll just be keeping things under observation for the week.”
Up to 22,000 people are expected to attend the Derby on Saturday where the big race is scheduled to start at 5.30pm to fit in with RTÉ’s television coverage of the World Cup. The other Group One at the Curragh this weekend will be Sunday’s Pretty Polly Stakes.
