Standard of this year’s Derby aspirants at an all-time high

Last Saturday’s spectacular racing at Shelbourne really whetted the appetite for the forthcoming Ladbrokes Irish Derby.

It proved beyond doubt that the standard of this year’s crop of Derby aspirants is of an all-time high and the point can be emphasised in Saturday’s eagerly anticipated Townviewfoods.com Champion Stakes.

When the late Bobby Jack came up with the idea of the Champion Stakes in late 1985 he could scarcely have believed the status which the event would attain in the intervening 27 years. This promises to be the race of races and it could well show one or other of the runners to be an absolute favourite for the Derby which will start some eleven days later.