Benvenuto Cellini won the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown last season — a Group 2 over a mile at Ireland's most prestigious flat venue. He was then third to Hawk Mountain in the Futurity at Doncaster on heavy ground. Today he bids to win the Chester Vase for Aidan O'Brien, who has won the race twelve times — the record for any trainer in the race's history.
The Juvenile Form
The KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes is a Group 2 race at Leopardstown — a serious juvenile trial at a high level. Winning it as a two-year-old places Benvenuto Cellini in the upper tier of O'Brien's juvenile crop from last season. He is by Frankel — a sire whose offspring consistently stay a mile and a half and beyond, with improvement from two to three being a consistent pattern among Frankel's Classic-generation horses.
The Futurity third on heavy ground carries an important caveat. The ITV Racing tips preview is direct: "he was far from disgraced on his final start of the campaign when third behind Hawk Mountain in the Futurity Stakes, where the heavy ground was probably against him. He can't be judged too harshly on that run." If the heavy ground explanation is accurate — and Frankel offspring regularly dislike very soft ground — then the Futurity run understates Benvenuto Cellini's ability on a normal surface.
Chester today is good — standard May ground for the Roodee. The going that probably worked against him at Doncaster in autumn is absent today.
Aidan O'Brien's Chester Vase Record
Twelve wins. The most by any trainer in the race's history. His latest was Lambourn last year, who went on to win the Derby. The pattern of O'Brien winning the Chester Vase with his primary Derby hope and then targeting Epsom is the most established preparation route in the Classic calendar. When O'Brien sends his best three-year-old colt to the Chester Vase, the race is being used as a final dress rehearsal before the Derby.
The Derby Ante-Post Market
The ITV Racing tips preview specifically references the Derby implications: "For our full ante-post breakdown of Benvenuto Cellini's Epsom Derby chances and the latest market prices, see our Epsom Derby 2026 Betting Odds article." O'Brien is chasing his fourth consecutive Derby win — a unique achievement in the race's history. Benvenuto Cellini is his primary vehicle for that attempt.
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Facts verified via web search May 6 2026.