Irish Derby ‘dark horse’ Matsuri could emerge on top in €1.25 million Curragh classic

A global audience will watch and bet on Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby although closer to home both Ireland’s premier classic and the Curragh have come under an uncomfortable spotlight.

The €1.25 million highlight is due off at 4.05, part of the first nine-race card at Irish racing’s HQ in the modern era.

The programme has been expanded to enhance Tote World Pool betting run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The Derby was included in the lucrative pool for the first time a year ago, yielding the Curragh up to €500,000 in revenue from total global turnover of €29 million.

Last year saw the long odds-on winner Auguste Rodin dominate the Derby betting as he became the 19th horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh double.

That his stable companion City Of Troy skips the chance to become number 20 – waiting instead for next week’s Eclipse – means more open betting but at an inevitable cost to the classic’s prestige.

Aidan O’Brien relies on Los Angeles, one of four Ballydoyle runners that make up half the Derby field, as he pursues a 16th victory in a top-flight race he has dominated like no other.

Los Angeles was third to City of Troy at Epsom four weeks ago and has over three lengths to make up on the runner-up Ambiente Friendly. Playing on home ground this time will persuade many that gap can be bridged.

Persuading the public to the Derby may prove a longer shot. Last year’s attendance of just under 11,000 was less than half the official attendance recorded a decade ago, long before the redeveloped Curragh was opened in 2019 at a cost of €81 million.

Last week, the €45 million put into the new Curragh by Horse Racing Ireland came under examination from the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee. It emerged that racing’s ruling body will have substantial losses for years to come in depreciation of the Curragh asset.

Apart from the Irish Champions Festival, the Derby is the only date in the year when the track’s facilities are tested by a substantial crowd, so a favourable weekend weather outlook is a plus.

Despite fears expressed in some quarters for the Derby’s long-term status, a much shorter-term plus is a contest that mightn’t have City Of Troy but does promise an intriguing clash of some of the best of the rest of Europe’s top middle-distance talent.

Ambiente Friendly’s connections have availed of free entry into the race to try to go one better than at Epsom. The last to do that was Jack Hobbs in 2015.

It will be a new test for veteran jockey Rab Havlin who has never won a race in Ireland and has had just a handful of rides at the Curragh.

The 50-year-old Scot is facing a tactical challenge against a Ballydoyle team which sees Ryan Moore team up with Los Angeles for the first time.

Kerry rider Oisin Murphy tries to win the race for the first time on the English outsider Sunway while the potential Derby ‘dark horse’ is the other cross-channel challenger, Matsuri.

The son of Sea The Stars failed to blossom in time for an Epsom preparation, only starting for the first time this season at Leicester a month ago. The bare form was negligible, but the style of his eight-length win was anything but.

Trainer Roger Varian immediately nominated the Curragh as an option and the prospect of quick ground conditions is likely to only add to his notable confidence in the colt.

The field is completed by the Ger Lyons-trained outsider Keeper’s Heart.