O’Brien Relishing ‘Ultimate Test’ as Derby Entries are Revealed

[Wandering Eyes]

By Brian Sheerin and Emma Berry

As the entries for the Betfred Derby were announced on Tuesday, Aidan O'Brien has admitted that it would be no surprise to see another of his colts take a major step forward this spring to rival current favourite The Lion In Winter (Ire), a son of the 2009 Derby winner Sea The Stars (Ire). 

“Being realistic, The Lion In Winter won his maiden very nicely and then went and won a Group 3 at York [Acomb Stakes]. They were two very good runs but obviously he was meant to go to the Dewhurst but didn't make it,” he said.  

“He's had a good long winter off and is back cantering again. Is he the number one? Who knows?

“Everything hinges around his form at York and you can interpret that run whichever way you want. It was only a Group 3 but the Justify horse of Charlie Appleby's [Ruling Court] is well regarded and he finished third. The Lion In Winter is by Sea The Stars so going the Derby trip has always been on his agenda and we are very happy with him. Having said that, some horses develop and progress at this time of year and we'll know a lot more when the trials have been run.”

Asked to nominate some horses who were perhaps open to above-average progression at three, O'Brien responded, “Well, there are a lot of horses there. Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was second in the Futurity at Doncaster, is one of them. Then there are a lot of horses who ran well or won maidens who we like a lot. Acapulco Bay (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is one of those horses who could progress. He had a lovely run first time up and then he won his maiden at the Curragh. But when he won his maiden, he never even rose a gallop—he was in front the whole way and was like a horse who was never on the track before. That maiden that he won was absolutely no reflection of what he could be capable of at all.”

The man who has won the Derby a record 10 times, including in the last two seasons with Auguste Rodin (Ire) and City Of Troy, continued, “That's what makes the Derby and the Classics so intriguing and we can't wait for when the trials start to see what's going to happen and what way horses have progressed and how much they've learned. Some horses mature differently physically and mentally and, to be honest, that's what makes us all dream around this time of year.”

He added, “The Derby is always very open and anyone who thinks differently is only kidding themselves. Some horses go back in the springtime, others go forward and the rest will stand still. The Derby is the ultimate test of the thoroughbred—no matter what anybody else thinks—over the distance and the track. If you think you have an outstanding horse, you can never be sure until they come through the Derby test on the day, because it is the ultimate test of the Thoroughbred.”

Ninety colts have been entered for the Epsom Classic on June 7, 31 of which are trained in Ireland, with another two from America and one from France.

Graham Motion, the British-born trainer based in Maryland, USA, is at this stage represented by Amerman Racing's Test Score, a son of the GI Preakness Stakes winner Lookin At Lucky

“It would be a tall order but we got to thinking about it last year after Trikari won the American Turf at Churchill, which was a 'win and you're in' for the Derby, which I think is a good concept but I think it would be asking a lot of him,” Motion said. “I'm big on international travel but I would want to be sure it's the right thing.”

Along with automatic entry for the winner of the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom on April 22, a runner from the GII American Turf Stakes, which is run on the Kentucky Derby undercard on May 4, will receive an entry and a travel incentive to run in the Derby.

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