O'Brien has half the field as he goes for 18th Irish Derby win

Three weeks after he was declared a non-runner in the Group 1 English Derby, Benvenuto Cellini leads a team of four entrants trained by Aidan O’Brien in Sunday’s Group 1 Irish Derby at The Curragh.

Benvenuto Cellini was the 3-1 favorite in the English Derby and finished 10th in a field of 14. After the race, Benvenuto Cellini was declared a non-runner after it was discovered he had a rear leg caught on a ledge in the starting gate when the gates opened. Benvenuto Cellini was beaten 28 1/2 lengths by stablemate Christmas Day.

The $1.42 million Irish Derby at 1 1/2 miles will be Benvenuto Cellini’s second official start of the year. He won the Group 3 Chester Vase at 1 9/16 miles at Chester Racecourse in Britain on May 6.

Owned by the Coolmore syndicate and Peter Brant, the impeccably bred Benvenuto Cellini is part of a field of eight in the Irish Derby. O’Brien and the Coolmore group are seeking a record 18th win, with Benvenuto Cellini joined by English Derby winner Christmas Day and the longshots Action and Pierre Bonnard.

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O’Brien and Coolmore have won the last three runnings of the Irish Derby. Ryan Moore, who rides first call for O’Brien, has the mount on Benvenuto Cellini, who is by Frankel and out of Newspaperofrecord, a two-time Grade 1 winner in the United States for trainer Chad Brown in 2019 and 2020.

The O’Brien family has six of the entrants. O’Brien’s sons, trainers Joseph and Donnacha, each have a runner. Joseph O’Brien starts James J Braddock, who was third by 5 1/4 lengths in the English Derby.

Christmas Day, who won for the fourth time in his seventh start in the English Derby at 1 1/2 miles, will be ridden by Ronan Whelan. Christmas Day has won four of his last five starts, a span that included a third-place finish in the Group 2 Dante Stakes at York Racecourse in May. In the English Derby, Christmas Day raced near the front throughout and won by 2 3/4 lengths with Whelan aboard.

The Irish Derby will provide a massive class test for the undefeated Raaheeb, who is starting in the longest race of his brief career. Trained in Britain by Owen Burrows, Raaheeb won a maiden race at a mile at Ascot Racecourse in Britain last September in his only start at 2. In his lone appearance this year, the highly respected Raaheeb won the Group 3 Classic Trial at 1 1/4 miles by 3 1/4 lengths at Sandown Park near London on April 24.

Raaheeb missed the English Derby after emerging from the Sandown race with soreness, Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Shadwell Stud, told the press last month.

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