Tough Derby decision for Murtagh
The Ballydoyle handler has trained seven previous winners of the Curragh Classic and has five entries in this year’s renewal.
His main hopes would appear to be Jan Vermeer, beaten into fourth when favourite in the Epsom Derby, and Cape Blanco, who was a big disappointment in the French equivalent at Chantilly.
While Jan Vermeer was installed as the initial favourite for Sunday’s Group One prize, most bookmakers now have Cape Blanco as their market-leader.
“Johnny hasn’t made up his mind which horse he’s going to ride yet and I suppose that’s why the markets are the way they are,” O’Brien told At The Races.
“We give Johnny as much time as he wants to make up his mind as he wants to be on the one that has the best chance.
“There are a lot of factors he’s got to work out in his mind and obviously we both talk about it.
“He has to try and work out whether Jan Vermeer has improved enough since Epsom and why Cape Blanco was disappointing in France and whether he can leave that run way behind him.
“In Epsom you could say the pacemaker got away and Jan Vermeer was a little bit on and off the bridle.
“It might have been greenness and it might have been the race fitness.
“Cape Blanco ran a listless race really in France, so there are a lot of things to factor into his decision.
“It’s very possible we will run all five horses but not definite as obviously they have to go through all their tests.
“It’s important we support the race as we know how special the race is.
“The Curragh every year is always the ultimate test because it’s probably the fairest track, you usually get an even gallop and it takes all the hard luck stories out of it.
“Epsom can be very tactical sometimes and you can get different results.”
Meanwhile Coronation Stakes heroine Lillie Langtry looks set to pit her wits against the older fillies for the first time in the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket next month.
After finishing a close-up fifth in the Irish 1000 Guineas on her seasonal reappearance, the Danehill Dancer filly turned in an impressive performance when scoring at Royal Ascot.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “She’s in good form and it’s very possible she’ll go for the Falmouth.
“She’s a filly with loads of class and a mile isn’t a problem for her.
“After that we could look at the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, but at the moment the Falmouth is the first target.”
O’Brien also had news of another Royal Ascot winner in Mikhail Glinka.
The Queen’s Vase Stakes victor will be given a short holiday before connections decide on future plans.
“We’ll give him a break now as he had a few hold-ups before Ascot and he just barely made it,” O’Brien told At The Races.
“We’ll see how he is after two or three weeks off and look for some races for him after that.”
* Godolphin’s Sabotage heads a maximum field of 20 runners in Saturday’s John Smith’s Northumberland Plate at Newcastle.
The four-year-old drops in class after finishing last of nine in Group company at Sandown last time, but is forced to concede weight all round in the two-mile heat.
