Aidan O’Brien’s 10 Derby dark horses

Aidan O’Brien gave enthusiastic reports on leading three-year-old talents Little Big Bear and Auguste Rodin after their public workouts at the Curragh over the weekend before unleashing Siyouni stallion Paddington to win the valuable Madrid Handicap at Naas, but what else does that do still? Champion of Ballydoyle waiting in the wings in his 2023 Classic crop?

Since Camelot won the Derby 8/13 in 2012, O’Brien has won the Epsom Classic with horses at odds of 7/1, 13/2, 25/1 and 40/1, so when it comes to this race mostly it’s rarely that easy to side with the winter favourite.

Impressive winner of the Vertem Futurity Trophy August Rodin is the form horse everyone is talking about – but here are 10 later maturing stablemates who have yet to be tested at pattern level but also hold the all-important entry for the Epsom Derby on 3rd June.

Adare Manor (Sire: Camelot)

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Owned by JP McManus, Adare Manor is named after the 5 star resort that will host the 2027 Ryder Cup. Adare Manor is a fascinating colt – at least on paper. He has not raced to this point and only has entries in the Derby and Curragh equivalent. He is a Camelot son out of a Sea The Stars mare. His race track debut is eagerly awaited.

Alexandroupoli (Camelot)

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Alexandroupolis, another son of Derby-winning sire Camelot, has been the big hit on the Epsom market in recent weeks (best price 16/1), so he can’t do much wrong with his homework. At two years old he has track experience and easily won a soft ground maiden mile on his debut in Galway in early September. Runner up and stablemate Espionage confirmed form with a close second to Proud And Regal in the G1 Criterium International the following month and there is clearly much to look forward to if he has improved as expected over the winter.

Bertinelli (justify)

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Winner of two races when he was two years old, this son of US Triple Crown hero Justify didn’t need to improve from first start to second to open his account in a Dundalk damsel in November. He had a pretty bad chance of landing that day but he’s out of Galileo mare Together Forever (unplaced 9/1 in the 2015 Oaks) and seems to be improving as a three year old for middle distance.

Cape Bridgewater (Australia)

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Also made two public appearances as a youngster, not much was going well as he ended up in the field as a 3/1 co-favourite on his Curragh debut before following home impressive stablemate Londoner as he debuted in a Dundalk damsel was fitted with blinders at the end of October. He will turn middle distances upside down this year and could be a good keeper.

Milwaukee (justify)

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Milwaukee, another Justify son, has plenty of size and scope and his dam Moth was placed in the 1000 Guineas which bodes well for a classic campaign. He carried his head a little awkwardly but put in good late work finishing fourth behind stablemate Hippodrome (repeat below) in a nine furlong Curragh Maid in early October. He’s one who could go straight up to 10 stadia this time around and is expected to appreciate a solid racing surface.

Mohawk Chief (Quality Road)

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By Quality Road, Mohawk Chief’s dam Wedding Vow is a full sister to Derby winner Serpentine while her dam Remember When was second to Snow Fairy at the Oaks 2010 so there is Epsom Classic form in the pedigree. He fell off the floor, went green and never got competitive the first time out at Listowel on September 20, but showed he was a quick learner when he picked up a Leopardstown Maid (7f) from a standout position just a month later 18 runners won. He wasn’t like the last article as a youngster, but he could show he’s improved beyond recognition when he hits the track this spring.

Peking Opera (Galileo)

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After a promising debut behind Killavullan Stakes’ third Bold Discovery at Naas, Peking Opera bested aforementioned stablemate Bertinelli in mid-October to break his maiden across the Leopardstown mile. O’Brien has won this particular race over the years with a number of high-profile promoters including the Bolshoi Ballet, who were eliminated as favorites for the 2021 Derby after completing the Ballysax/’Derrinstown’ double, and the Peking Opera, who were selected for the earlier looks will most likely return to Leopardstown.

Prague (Galileo)

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Another son of the mighty Galileo, Prague has yet to grace the track but could do so as early as this Wednesday if he holds an entry in the 10-furlong Navan Virgo won by Stone Age 12 months ago, the promptly followed up by the ‘Derrinstown’ Derby Trial, going 7/2 for the Derby.

The Black Tiger (Justify)

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An hour and a half later in Navan we can watch The Black Tiger make its racetrack debut in the Mile Maid which closes the map on Wednesday. Another Justify son out of a Sadler’s Wells mare who is closely related to 2011 Epsom hero Pour Moi has entries in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, Derby and Irish Derby and frankly could be anything at this point.

The Prairie (Galileo)

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He entered the aforementioned 10 furlong Navan Virgin this week alongside Cape Bridgewater and Prague and was clearly bred to top class as he was a Galileo colt out of Again who won the Irish 1,000 Guineas. Sluggish from the start on his debut at Killarney (1 minute) in October, he was not unduly punished entering the straight but ran on encouragingly to be beaten by fourth lengths behind stablemate Gulf of Mexico in fourth. His sister Delphinia did really well, second in a G1 over 1m6f with three and there is plenty more to come as he picks up steam.

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