 Johnny Murtagh will ride Cape Blanco in the Irish Derby |
All 11 horses have retained their entries at the final declaration stage for Sunday's Irish Derby (1710 BST). Trainer Aidan O'Brien will saddle five horses as he bids for a fifth straight win and eighth in all in the Classic at the Curragh. O'Brien will run narrow favourite Cape Blanco, Jan Vermeer, At First Sight, Bright Horizon and Midas Touch. Frankie Dettori will ride Royal Ascot winner Monterosso, who was supplemented for £125,000 on Tuesday. Dettori partnered the colt to victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot, beating At First Sight, who was second at 100-1 in the Derby, into fourth. Monterosso, owned by the son of Dettori's boss Sheikh Mohammed, has come through the ranks in spectacular fashion after winning his maiden on the all-weather at Lingfield in January. "He's been showing all the right signs since Ascot. Everything's perfect, touch-wood," said trainer Mark Johnston.  | Picking between Cape Blanco and Jan Vermeer was a very tough decision |
"It's a tall order for a horse to climb from handicaps to the Irish Derby in such a short space of time but he looks the part and the way he won at Ascot the form of that race puts him right there. "He still showed greenness but he gets better with every run. He really looks the part now." Cape Blanco disappointed in the French Derby after beating subsequent Epsom Derby winner Workforce in the Dante Stakes at York, but Johnny Murtagh has opted to ride Cape Blanco over Jan Vermeer, who was fourth at Epsom after going off favourite. "It was a tough decision. For some reason he didn't run well in France. I got bumped out at the top of the straight and that knocked him off balance and he never got really into his stride," said the Irish jockey. "We saw him in a different light in the Dante. He won very well that day and I think we have him back to his best. "Picking between him and Jan Vermeer was a very tough decision, but I've gone with him now and on Sunday we'll see what happens." Godolphin's hopes are pinned on the pairing of Kieren Fallon and Chabal, though connections have warned that the colt will only run if the ground is suitable. English trainers Michael Bell and David Simcock are represented by Coordinated Cut and Dubawi Phantom respectively. Bell said of Coordinated Cut: "The track at the Curragh will suit him much better than Epsom, so hopefully we will be able to get a true handle on what real level of ability he has. | 606: DEBATE |
"Whether we can find the improvement and turn the tables on the likes of Jan Vermeer (fourth at Epsom) remains to be seen. "I wouldn't like to predict that. I'll let the horse do the talking on the day and see what happens." Bell admitted that if Coordinated Cut performed well on Sunday he might be aimed at the St Leger. The field for the Irish Derby is completed by the Jim Bolger pair, Carraiglawn and Puncher Clynch Workforce will not be travelling to Ireland after Sir Michael Stoute opted instead to aim him at the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on 24 July.
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