Not even considered the stable's first string for the G3 Chester Vase less than two months ago, Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}) has forced his way into pole position among the Ballydoyle 3-year-old middle-distance colts and now bids to become the fifth from that stable to complete the most important Derby double in Saturday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh. One of the biggest-priced winners in the history of the Epsom Classic but nevertheless clear-best on the day under Padraig Beggy, the surprise element of the current crop of Rosegreen sophomores now has to prove that result was no fluke. While he may have benefitted from a hold-up ride in the June 3 blue riband, there is no conclusive proof that the way the race was run suited him and he was stopped in his run at a crucial stage. Unlike the former English-Irish Derby heroes from his yard Galileo (Ire), High Chaparral (Ire), Camelot (GB) and Australia (GB), he has come from the clouds but will be a hard act to pass if he is in the same form as he was four weeks ago.
“We are very happy with Wings of Eagles and we've been happy with all the horses and their preparation for the Irish Derby on Saturday,” Aidan O'Brien said. “In the Epsom Derby, we found out a lot about all the horses and we were very happy with them all really and they seem to be quite versatile.”
O'Brien, who holds the record of 11 Irish Derby winners which have all come since 1997, is also responsible for the 1-2-3 on an even more remarkable five occasions since 2002. Five of his tally had been beaten at Epsom and given the open nature of this year's Derby prior to its running it would be no surprise to see the also-rans turn the form around. Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) finally gets his favoured easy ground on which he captured the G2 Beresford S. here in September and on which he filled third spot behind Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October. He was sixth at Epsom, a length and one place ahead of his far more aggressively ridden stablemate Douglas Macarthur (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who had previously beaten him into third in the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S. at Leopardstown on May 7. “Wings of Eagles is in good form and Capri ran very well at Epsom, as Seamus [Heffernan] expected he would,” O'Brien added. “Colm [O'Donoghue] was happy with Douglas Macarthur at Epsom and we've also declared Taj Mahal, who ran well [when fourth in the June 22 G3 Hampton Court S.] at Ascot, and The Anvil. The Curragh is a very fair track and usually every horse, if they are good enough, they get a good clean shot at it. It's one of the fairest tracks in the world.”
Recent betting movements suggest that it will be 'TDN Rising Star' Waldgeist who is more likely to upset the home-trained contingent than the Derby third Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and the Andre Fabre trainee has already beaten Capri and Wings of Eagles in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Owned by Gestut Ammerland, Newsells Park Stud, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor, he was runner-up on his return in the G2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud on May 8 before finishing a short-head second to Brametot (Ire) (Rajsaman {Fr}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on June 4. He looks the type who is crying out for a mile-and-a-half and bids to become the first French-trained colt to win this since another Ammerland-bred for the same stable, Hurricane Run (Ire), in 2005. Several others have tried, with the fellow Fabre-trained Winged Love (Ire) succeeding alongside Montjeu (Ire) and the likes of Suave Dancer and Dalakhani (Ire) finding one too good. “He's going to run a good race. I think the extra distance will suit him and a bit of rain would help,” Fabre commented. “As long as there is a good pace, which there should be, I think we're going to see a good performance from him. He is a very different horse to Hurricane Run. This is a light horse with very good acceleration. He stays well and he has a big heart as well as the ability he has already shown. I'm a great fan of The Curragh. It is a beautiful track, well designed, you cannot be unlucky as it is a very fair course. You never see a messy race at The Curragh.”
Mill House LLC's June 8 Listed King George V Cup winner Grandee (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) is a live outsider based on his success in that Leopardstown contest over this trip and trainer Jessie Harrington is hopeful he can be in the shake-up. “He stayed on really well at Leopardstown. It's a very big step up for Saturday, but he's been in good form and he's improved with each run this year,” she said. “It's great to have a horse that's even good enough to run in the Irish Derby. If he could run into a place, I'd be delighted with him.” Jim Bolger's representatives are never to be ignored and although Godolphin's Dubai Sand (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) has a mountain to climb on his recent form, he is fitted with cheekpieces and has been freshened up since his fifth in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. “Recently, he has been working very well,” Bolger said. “He's getting back to where he was last year in his attitude. Yes, he did lose his way in late spring and early summer. I had been looking at Epsom. So far, it looks an average year for 3-year-olds, but this Derby looks a competitive race. We have the winner and third from Epsom, plus the best from France.”
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