Aidan O’Brien on Monday confirmed he may saddle as many as 4 runners in subsequent month’s Betfred Derby – however stopped in need of committing spectacular Chester winner Structure River for Epsom.
Ballydoyle have swept just about all earlier than them within the spring Derby trials and have been completely dominant on the Roodee final week with Benvenuto Cellini spectacular within the Boodles Chester Vase, whereas Structure River routed his discipline 24 hours later within the Boodles Raindance Dee Stakes.
The previous strengthened his place on the head of the Derby market following his decisive four-and-a-quarter-length success, whereas Structure River was backed into second favouritism after thumping Generic by seven lengths.
Nevertheless the latter, a 4/1 likelihood with the sponsors, can also be being significantly thought of for a visit to Chantilly on Might 31 to sort out the French Derby together with the likes of Montreal and Hawk Mountain.
O’Brien stated: ‘Structure River may presumably go to France – it isn’t written in stone. The 2 horses that went to France for his or her trials (Montreal and Hawk Mountain), the plan with each of them was undoubtedly to go to France.
‘Structure River went to Chester figuring out that he might be an Epsom or a French horse. And we have been blissful that it was a mile and 1 / 4, simply in case he was going to go to France. The one factor is, if he goes to France, he is solely (gone) left-handed to date – he did not go right-handed but.
Aidan O’Brien is eyeing a twelfth Derby win after a commanding begin to the flat season this 12 months
‘We felt, and the way in which it was wanting, he seemed very completely different going via all his work. He seemed superb final 12 months and appears to have come out of the race properly.
‘Structure River is a kind of mile and 1 / 4 horses that would get a mile and a half, however you could not make sure. For those who have been using him over a mile and a half, you would be using him a bit patiently. However he is a variety of pace and a variety of class.
‘In the meanwhile, we’re wanting on the horse that gained the Chester Vase, Benvenuto Cellini, for Epsom. We’re additionally wanting on the horse that ran on Sunday at Leopardstown, Pierre Bonnard.
‘Pierre Bonnard was a large, huge horse and we purposely let him get as huge as we may over the winter and as sturdy as we may as a result of we did not need him to show right into a shell early.
‘So, we felt we needed to run him (within the Ballysax Stakes). The race went a bit flawed and he was needing to run. As a result of he was the place he was, we could not go, say, and assault into him and have him actually prepared for Sunday as a result of then we would not stick with it to the Derby.
‘We stripped him again a bit extra for Leopardstown. The tempo was in all probability too sluggish for him, however he nonetheless ran very properly. I’d suppose and we expect that he would step up huge time subsequent time going a mile and a half.’
O’Brien appears to be like like being multiply represented in Thursday’s Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York with Christmas Day and Motion wanting so as to add their names to Ballydoyle’s Epsom contenders’ checklist.
‘Christmas Day was all the time a really authentic horse and he has gone beneath the radar slightly,’ added O’Brien.
‘We have been going to France with him final 12 months to the Group One which Pierre Bonnard gained and he bought a temperature and he needed to cease.
‘He beat the horse that was second yesterday (Pierre Bonnard) within the Ballysax Stakes so, it’ll be fascinating. And I might say he is in all probability stepped up from the Ballysax.
‘The York horses are clearly all nonetheless within the Epsom image, relying on what occurs.’
O’Brien can be represented by Moments Of Pleasure in tomorrow’s Group 3 Tattersalls Musidora Stakes the place she’s going to sort out 5 rivals, together with final 12 months’s Fillies’ Mile fourth Legacy Hyperlink and Felicitas, a formidable three-length winner of a Sandown novice occasion on her comeback.
