Benvenuto Cellini gets the Classic he was denied at Epsom. The Derby non-runner — withdrawn on race day after a stalls incident that generated significant controversy — returns today for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh, a Group 1 over a mile and a half on good to firm ground. He won a Group 3 at Chester by four lengths last time. Aidan O'Brien trains. Ryan Moore rides. The expert view calls him the one to beat. At 15/8, he is today's NAP.
The Chester Vase — Four Lengths
Benvenuto Cellini's most recent completed run was the Chester Vase, which he won by four lengths. The margin matters as much as the result. A four-length Group 3 win is not a horse scraping home in a moderate field — it is a horse with a clear class advantage over the opposition, winning with authority. The expert view's description is precise: won with authority. That is the form he brings to the Curragh today.
The Chester Vase is one of the two most reliable Derby trial races on the calendar — a Group 3 over twelve and a half furlongs at a track demanding agility and balance. Winning it by four lengths, with authority, is the kind of trial form that signals a horse capable of stepping up into Classic company and being competitive.
The Epsom V — Set Aside
His form reads 1-1-3---1-V and the V is the Epsom non-runner. The expert view addresses it directly and definitively: that run should be set aside. A horse withdrawn due to a stalls incident on race morning has not run. There is no performance to assess, no fitness question to answer, no evidence from the race itself because there was no race for him. The V in the form figures represents an administrative fact, not a racing result.
The controversy around the Epsom stalls incident — which led to significant criticism of the BHA's handling of the situation and Rule 4 deductions for punters who had backed the eventual winner — does not affect what Benvenuto Cellini has shown on a racecourse. He has won a Group 3 by four lengths and now lines up in the Irish Derby. The intervening weeks have been preparation time rather than setback time.
Proven at 12f on a Fast Surface
The Irish Derby is run over a mile and a half at the Curragh — exactly the Classic distance. The expert view confirms both key variables: proven at 12f, with the faster surface strongly in his favour. His Chester Vase win came over twelve and a half furlongs on good ground. Today's Curragh going is good to firm — the fast surface the expert view has specifically identified as strongly in his favour. Both the trip and the conditions are confirmed positives.
The Curragh is a wide, galloping, right-handed track in County Kildare — one of the most conventional and fair racecourses in Ireland. Unlike Epsom's uniquely demanding geometry, the Curragh places no specialist demands on horses from conventional British tracks. A horse who won a trial at Chester and was prepared for Epsom will handle the Curragh's straightforward configuration without difficulty.
Aidan O'Brien — 22% Over 14 Days
Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle operation is running at 22% over the last 14 days — 11 winners from 50 runners. That is a steady, professional rate from the most powerful National Hunt and Flat operation in Ireland, one that has dominated both the Irish Derby and the wider Classic picture for decades. O'Brien has won the Irish Derby more times than any other trainer in history. His record in this specific race is unmatched. When Ballydoyle sends the horse the expert view designates as the one to beat, it is not speculative entry — it is deliberate targeting.
Ryan Moore
Ryan Moore rides. At Epsom, the Derby he was meant to partner, Moore watched from the sidelines as Christmas Day — Ballydoyle's third string — took victory under Ronan Whelan. Today he has the horse the stable always intended for this Classic campaign. Moore's Curragh record is outstanding, his familiarity with Ballydoyle's horses is unparalleled, and his ability to judge pace on a galloping track over a mile and a half is as good as any jockey in the world.
The Bottom Line
Four-length Group 3 winner at Chester with authority. The Epsom non-runner set aside — a stalls incident, not a performance. Proven at twelve furlongs on fast ground. Good to firm at the Curragh suits strongly. Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle — the most prolific Irish Derby stable in history — at 22% over 14 days. Ryan Moore riding the horse he was always meant to have. Expert view: the one to beat. At 15/8, Benvenuto Cellini is today's NAP — back each-way at minimum in a Classic field of this quality, to win for those with full confidence in the form.
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