Aidan O’Brien a year ago became the first trainer in modern history to win the Derby three years in a row. Saturday at Epsom Downs, he has four horses, including the early favorite, to make it four. British bookmakers Thursday offered Benvenuto Cellini at about 2-1, a solid but far from an overwhelming favorite among a group of 14 entered in the 1 1/2-mile classic over Epsom’s unique, challenging course. The course itself and course conditions, which figure no better than soft, will play a major role, perhaps particularly for the favorite. Benvenuto Cellini, a long-bodied, long-striding chestnut with a half-white face, chased home pacesetting stablemate Dorset in his debut. He then fairly impressively won two in a row, but could not show his best finishing a wilting third over heavy going in the Group 1 Futurity in his 2-year-old finale. The son of Frankel, the mount of Ryan Moore, has further questions to answer. He beat little in his major 2-year-old win, the Champions Juvenile, and in his Derby prep, the Chester Vase, and in his last three starts, Benvenuto Cellini has faced a total of 11 opponents. O’Brien’s 2025 Derby winner, Lambourn, came out of the Chester Vase, the first horse to do so since 2013. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Pierre Bonnard, priced Thursday at 5-1, might be a better O’Brien bet having been hardened through a six-race career at five racecourses in three countries. Something of a work in progress last year, failing to properly settle in a couple starts, he put together a complete and eye-catching performance winning the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over very soft going in October. Dull in his 3-year-old debut, Pierre Bonnard improved considerably in his Derby trial May 10 at Leopardstown, pipped on the post by James J Braddock, a creditable Derby hope himself trained by O’Brien’s son Joseph. Christophe Soumillon, aboard for Pierre Bonnard’s two best races, regains the mount. Wayne Lordan rode Pierre Bonnard in his most recent race but moves Saturday to O’Brien’s presumed third string, Action, who did cope with the heavy going at Doncaster, beaten a half-length by stablemate Hawk Mountain in the Futurity. Action proved no match in the Dante at York (last Derby winner Desert Crown in 2022) for Item, a Juddmonte homebred unbeaten in three starts. Item, by Frankel, cruised to smooth, easy wins facing overmatched foes at Kempton Park and Bath last year. Even then, trainer Andrew Balding was said to have the Derby in mind. Item coped comfortably with stronger competition and more distance in the Dante, where he picked up steadily a quarter-mile out and won going away, but Item’s an unknown on softer ground. O’Brien’s fourth entrant, Christmas Day, was favored in the Dante and finished third. James J Braddock whipped 19 rivals over heavy going at Navan for a second-start maiden win and on bare form looks the equal of Pierre Bonnard, whom he’s twice beaten this year, though the market’s considerably warmer on Pierre Bonnard. Maltese Cross beat Bay of Brilliance a neck in a 11 1/2-furlong Derby trial at Lingfield, that pair more than six clear of Derby longshot Balzac. Bay of Brilliance was making his first start after a winter break, but Maltese Cross, who’d already raced this year, scored all three of his wins by narrow margins. Both rate a chance in what looks like a wide-open Derby. ◗ Calandagan, the highest-rated horse in the world, brings a six-race, globe-trotting winning streak Saturday into the Coronation Cup – where he finished second last year, his last loss. And the horse who beat him a year ago, Jan Brueghel, is waiting for Calandagan again. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.