Epsom hero heads the market for Aidan O'Brien
Anthony van Dyck will bid to do the double in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on Saturday evening.
The Epsom hero is bidding to follow in the illustrious hoofprints of fellow Ballydoyle stars Galileo, High Chaparral, Camelot and Australia.
In some good news for each-way punters, eight horses stand their ground for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby final declarations. Therefore, on an each-way bet on the race, punters will get paid on the first three home.
Lucky 13
Five of the eight runners are trained by Aidan O'Brien who is seeking a record thirteenth win in the race. Dual Derby seeking Anthony van Dyck will be ridden by Ryan Moore, while Seamie Heffernan who was victorious at Epsom will ride Norway. Donnacha O'Brien will be on board Broome, as was the case at Epsom. Wayne Lordan will be on Il Paradiso with Padraig Beggy on Sovereign.
Jim Bolger, Dermot Weld and the octogenarian Kevin Prendergast train the remaining three runners. Madhmoon, trained by Prendergast finished between Broom and Anthony van Dyck at Epsom. Prendergast has been bullish about the colt's chances during the week. He told Racing TV, "whatever finishes in front of him will win" at Naas races on Wednesday evening.
Dynasty
It would be an incredible story for a man of racing royalty to finally win a first Irish Derby. Kevin's legendary father Paddy won four Derbies on the Curragh, the most recent of those was in 1965. That is four years before Aidan O'Brien was even born.
A win for Madhmoon would also be a boost for the Curragh as a training facility with only three Irish Derby-winning trainers based there since Paddy Prendergast last won the race. They were Seamus McGrath in the early seventies, John Oxx twice and Dermot weld three times.
Weld seeks a fourth Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Success with the improving Rakan, ridden by Jim Crowley. The field is completed by the Jim Bolger trained Guaranteed.
The 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby goes to post at 5.20 on Saturday. It's all set up for another historic story to be told on the famous Curragh Plains.
