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RacingBetter News |
| Wednesday 28th May 2025 | |
Epsom Derby 2025: O’Brien Hints Moore could Ride Delacroix
Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has indicated that jockey Ryan Moore could ride Delacroix in the 2025 Epsom Derby on Saturday, June 7.
O’Brien has five horses entered in the prestigious race, creating a significant conundrum for punters ahead of one of the biggest betting events of the year.
However, the latest horse racing news out of the Coolmore stable suggests that Moore could choose to be aboard the Leopardstown Derby Trial winner at Epsom.
The Lion In Winter was previously touted as O’Brien’s main Derby hope before his disappointing seasonal reappearance in the Dante Stakes at York this month.
Moore was expected to keep the faith with the son of Sea The Stars at Epsom, but O’Brien has hinted that he could switch allegiances next month.
“The three strongest horses at the moment for the Derby are Lambourn, the horse who won the Chester Vase, Delacroix, who won in Leopardstown, and the horse who ran in the Dante (The Lion In Winter),” O’Brien said. “They look the three strongest.
“I would imagine Ryan has the choice between them. The horse in the Dante has to come on and everything has to go right for him - and it has gone right so far.
“Delacroix has done absolutely everything perfect so far. He has done everything right and his preparation has gone perfect.
“He's by Dubawi, but his sister by Galileo [Grateful] won over a mile and six furlongs. He's a total outcross - he's out of a superstar mare and he's by Dubawi, so he's a very exciting type of horse.
“They've another couple of weeks to go. I would imagine Ryan will find it hard not to ride him - but that doesn't mean he will ride him.”
Bettors will undoubtedly be closely monitoring developments in the O’Brien stable on a daily basis given what has happened over the past two years.
His Auguste Rodin (2023) and City Of Troy (2024) both ran badly in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket before bouncing back to form to win the Epsom Derby.
Much like the unpredictable nature of the results on football livescore platforms, forecasting whether The Lion In Winter will follow in their footsteps is a tricky task.
Intriguingly, O’Brien admitted after the horse’s defeat in the Dante that he was not surprised at the outcome and backed him to improve at Epsom.
"We always thought what happened at York with The Lion In Winter could happen, but he needed to run if he was going to go to the Derby,” O’Brien told Racing TV.
“We were very happy with the run. He jumped, he was fresh and things didn't work. He would have probably been a good third but he got stopped halfway down the straight.
“If he hadn't jumped into the bridle and wanted to tear off early, that would have been another couple of lengths."
O’Brien’s comments create a sizeable headache for punters attempting to garner a definitive handle on which of his runners has the best chance of winning the Derby.
The puzzle is further complicated by British trainer Ralph Beckett, whose Stanhope Gardens laid down a serious Derby marker at Salisbury over the weekend.
In one of the least surprising horse racing results of recent times, the Ghaiyyath colt justified odds of 2/11 to sweep to an effortless victory under jockey Hector Crouch at the Wiltshire racecourse.
He previously finished just a neck behind Delacroix in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket last October and will likely be aimed at the Epsom Derby.
Jamie McCalmont, racing manager to part-owner Marc Chan of Marcstown Ltd, said: “We need to see how he comes out of the race, but everyone seems keen to be heading to Epsom.
“He needs to be thriving, but hopefully that will be the case and hopefully we’ll be at Epsom. I felt very much afterwards that Hector’s body language spoke volumes.
“Sometimes jockeys can start talking about how good a horse is, but Hector just had a sparkle in his eye - he was like the cat who had just got the cream!”
Stanhope Gardens could be a serious threat to O’Brien’s chances of dominating the horse racing race results at this year’s Epsom Derby.
