Could Derby hope Benvenuto Cellini be the latest Ballydoyle superstar?

There doesn’t appear to be an outstanding candidate for this year’s Group 1 Betfred Derby at Epsom on June 6, but given their record over the last two decades and more, it seems more likely than not that the winner will emerge from the battalion of high-class thoroughbreds representing Ballydoyle and master trainer Aidan O’Brien, writes Paul Alster.

Starting with that memorable win of the subsequent super-sire Galileo in the 2001 renewal, O’Brien has won a further ten Derbys with the likes of High Chaparral (2002), Camelot (2012), City Of Troy (2024), and last year with Lambourn, who went on to complete the English-Irish Derby double when scoring at the Curragh a few weeks later.

This spring O’Brien (pictured above) has sent out the winner or placed horses in just about all the Derby trials on both sides of the Irish Sea, the most impressive arguably being Benvenuto Cellini, whose more than four-length romp in the Group 3 Chester Vase a few weeks ago stamped him out as a very likely sort for the ultimate test at Epsom. The Chester race was won by the likes of Henbit and the mighty Shergar in the early 1980’s and was the springboard to Derby glory for Lambourn twelve months ago. Benvenuto Cellini, a striking chestnut colt by Frankel, is the clear 5/2 ante-post Derby favourite and is expected to be partnered by stable jockey Ryan Moore, a four-time Derby winner himself.

Aidan O’Brien also won the 1m2f Dee Stakes at Chester with the impressive Constitution River, who romped away from his rivals to score by seven lengths. Like so many of the Ballydoyle colts, he has options in the French and Irish Derbys as well, and some observers expect he could head to Chantilly instead of Epsom, but nothing is cast in stone. A Group 1 winner as a juvenile, stable companion Pierre Bonard missed out by just a short-head in the 1m2f Derby Trial at Leopardstown, finding Joseph O’Brien’s James J Braddock just too good for him. The pair could meet again on the Epsom Downs, while the Chantilly nine-furlong Group 3 winner Hawk Mountain still holds an Epsom Derby entry, although the French alternative over just a furlong more than his recent win would appear the more logical path for him.

The Ballydoyle team had to settle for second and third places in arguably the most prestigious Derby trial though as Action and Christmas Day found the exciting Item (pictured above), trained by Andrew Balding, too good for them on the Knavesmire. Unbeaten in three starts, the home bred Juddmonte Farms colt impressed many people as he powered clear inside the final furlong despite having been keen in the early stages of the race on his seasonal reappearance. A rock solid 4/1 second-favourite, Item looks the biggest danger to the O’Brien team and could yet be a star turn.

The William Haggas-trained Maltese Cross just got the better of Ralph Beckett’s Bay Of Brilliance in a stirring battle for the Group 3 Lingfield Derby Trial, the pair pulling six lengths clear of their rivals, Maltese Cross gaining the day by a neck. Both seem likely to run at Epsom, but it is debatable whether the Lingfield form measures up to the other trials at York, Leopardstown, and Chester.

Regardless of who wins the Betfred Derby most neutral observers will hope it is won by a really good horse and that the crowd on the Downs will be significantly bigger than the paltry numbers that have attended the once world-class sporting spectacle in years gone by. The mile-and-a-half distance, the unique undulations of Epsom and its mind-blowing camber down the home straight, are the ultimate test of a thoroughbred racehorse.

The painful truth is that the Derby has been very much overshadowed by other sporting events in recent years as the British racing authorities have failed to keep pace with changing public expectations and the corporate world. It has taken too long to steady the ship, but I understand that big efforts have been made this year to try and attract back the masses that made the Derby one of the greatest sporting occasions.

Let’s hope there will be a big crowd massing at Epsom on June 6 and that a fine winner will help raise the status of this superb race.

Paul Alster has broadcast and reported on the British racing industry for four decades as a commentator, journalist, TV and radio presenter, betting correspondent, SP Returner, tipster and form analyst, among other things.