A fascinating rematch between the first three horses home in the Derby is in prospect in the Irish equivalent this weekend after Aidan O’Brien confirmed on Monday that both US Army Ranger and Idaho will attempt to reverse Epsom form with Dermot Weld’s Harzand.
Three of the last four winners of the Irish Derby have been odds-on favourites, including Camelot at 1-5 and Australia at 1-8, but a much more competitive race seems likely on Saturday evening, with Harzand currently odds-against at a top price of 5-4. US Army Ranger, who came from nearly last turning into the home straight to finish one and a half lengths behind Harzand in the Epsom Classic, is close behind him in the betting at 11-8 while Idaho, another length and a quarter away in third, is a 6-1 chance.
Harzand was a convincing Derby winner on the day, beating 15 opponents in what had been seen beforehand as one of the most open Classics for many years. Pat Smullen, his jockey, had him in an ideal position throughout the race, however, and the rider was able to exploit Harzand’s cruising speed and acceleration to maximum effect.
The contest did not unfold as well for US Army Ranger with Ryan Moore, his jockey, needed to wait for running room and then make significant ground in the straight before he delivered a final charge that levelled off only in the final half-furlong.
The way the race unfolded at Epsom ensured that backers of US Army Ranger may have felt their runner was unfortunate, although Harzand’s supporters will also point to the fact that Weld’s colt pulled off a shoe on the way to the track and was standing with his foot in a bucket of ice only a few hours before post time.
Punters on both sides of the argument should get the chance to back their opinion with cash this weekend, while the expected presence of Idaho, who improved significantly for the step up to 12 furlongs last time, adds further interest.
“US Army Ranger and Idaho are the main two that we are thinking for the Irish Derby at the moment,” O’Brien said on Monday morning. “They both seem to have come out of Epsom well and I couldn’t be happier really.
“US Army Ranger was only a baby going into Epsom and we didn’t know how he would take it, so it was pitching him in big time and he was green and babyish, but he has come forward and out of the race great, to be honest.
“Idaho ran a real big race at Epsom and you would have to say he progressed lovely from [his third-place finish in the Derrinstown Trial at] Leopardstown and we are very happy with him since.
“Shogun and Port Douglas are in the Derby as well and both could probably go there but we’ll see closer to the weekend what else lines up.”
Red Verdon, who was a supplementary entry for the Derby at Epsom at a cost of £75,000 and recouped about £21,000 for Ronnie Arculli, his owner, when he stayed on into sixth place, could also be added to the field for the Irish Derby for €100,000. Ed Dunlop’s colt took a handicap at Haydock prior to his promising run at Epsom and is top-priced at 20-1 to become a Classic-winner at the second attempt.
The Curragh has not escaped the rain that turned the ground soft for Royal Ascot last week and the track received a drenching of 14.6mm on Sunday.
The forecast in County Kildare is unsettled until Thursday but better weather is expected by the first day of the Derby meeting on Friday.
“It was on the quicker side of good on Saturday after a nice drying day,” Paul Hensey, The Curragh’s racing manager, said on Monday, “but the rain was forecast and it duly arrived. We were delighted because it’s done us the world of good and it was great that we got it when we did.
“We had 14.6mm on Sunday, it started raining in the morning and stayed that way all day long. It was never particularly heavy but we probably had eight hours of rainfall.
“The forecast is quite mixed for sunshine and showers virtually every day from now until Thursday but the likelihood is that we are going to catch a couple of showers somewhere along the line. The Met Office is saying that temperatures are going to pick up on Friday but it will be quite humid so won’t dry things out a lot.
“Looking into my crystal ball, I’d say we will probably be very close to where we are at the moment, just on the slower side of good.”
