Aidan O’Brien has warned that Betfred Derby second favourite Constitution River could go to Chantilly for the Prix du Jockey Club.
The impressive Dee Stakes winner, rated 124p by Timeform, 6lb clear of Epsom favourite Benvenuto Cellini, stepped up from seven furlongs to the extended 10 furlongs around Chester last week and showed serious gears in winning by seven lengths.
That performance has seen his price shorten to 9/2 generally for the Derby, but at his Ballydoyle stables on Monday morning, for a press day organised by the Jockey Club, O’Brien strongly suggested he is thinking of running the son of Wootton Bassett in France on May 31.
“We’re looking at Benvenuto Cellini for Epsom and the horse that ran yesterday (Pierre Bonnard),” O’Brien said.
“Constitution River could possibly go to France, it’s not written in stone. Montreal and Hawk Mountain could go to France, too.
“Christmas Day goes to the Dante, as could Action. Christmas Day has probably stepped up from the Ballysax and he could be interesting (for Epsom).
“Constitution River went to Chester knowing he could be an Epsom or a French horse. We were happy that was a mile and a quarter, just in case he was going to go to France.
“If he goes to France he’ll have to go right-handed. But we felt going through all his work that he looked very different. He looked very good last year, he had a good long break and we were hoping that it could happen, what he did.
“He seems to have come out of the race well.
“Could he get the trip? He’s one of these mile-and-a-quarter horses that could get a mile and a half, but you couldn’t be sure.
“If you were riding him a mile and a half you’d ride him patiently. He has a lot of speed and a lot of class.”
O’Brien did go on to say that Ryan Moore would in all likelihood choose to ride Constitution River if he did end up on the team for Epsom, however.
“I’d imagine if Constitution River went (to Epsom) Ryan would probably get off Benvenuto Cellini. I’d say he could, I’m only presuming what could happen. Ryan would think a lot about that.
“I’d run eight of them at Epsom. But you have to remember the lads run a big business and all the races have to be supported. They are close to each other, so you can’t do both.
“There has to be a dividing up of the races. The French Derby is a serious race to win and they will want to win it.
“They are different races and when the French race came back to a mile and a quarter it’s a little bit of a different profile now. At Chantilly, you nearly want a miler that stays a mile and a quarter.
“Often, that kind of horse at Epsom, they would find it too hard, too demanding. Like Delacroix, we went to Epsom and he was probably a mile and a quarter horse. The Lion In Winter, we went, he was a miler.
“The lads will decide what they want to do. They will want to win the races, they will want to do the right thing by the horses and they’ll have to think if it’s too much for Constitution to go to Epsom.
“They’ll watch all the work, hear the jockey comments and then talk amongst themselves what they want to do commercially."
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