The field of runners and stalls positions have been determined for Saturday’s Betfred Derby, with 14 colts in contention.
The decision was made to bring the declarations forward another 24 hours from the standard Thursday morning slot in a bid to heighten engagement and interest in the Epsom Classic, part of a wider review which also sees a boost to the prize-money and alteration to the Saturday race programme.
The Derby is due off at 16:00 on Saturday afternoon and Aidan O’Brien, who has won the race 11 times in the past including the three most recent renewals, is set to be four-strong this time around.
Heading the Ballydoyle challenge is Chester Vase winner Benvenuto Cellini who will break from stall 12.
Pierre Bonnard has been the subject of market support in recent days and he will emerge from gate 8, while the other O’Brien runners to be declared are Action and Christmas Day, who have stalls 11 and 5 respectively.
Causeway, Endorsement and Proposition were taken out on Thursday.
Best of the home team, according to the market at least, is the Andrew Balding-trained Juddmonte star Item, who won the Dante Stakes at York and has been handed stall 3. The stable is also represented by outsider A Taste Of Glory (7).
Anna Lisa Balding said: "We've been lucky and he (Ahmed Al Shaikh, owner of A Taste Of Glory) has had horses with us finish second twice at big, big prices and A Taste Of Glory might be the same. He's drawn seven, just like Pour Moi, so fingers crossed."
Regarding Derby second-favourite Item, she said: "The Dante was the good place to start. Everyone was bigging up the race before the race and he really delivered very well on the day, he finished strongly. He might have been a little bit green in front, so hopefully he's learnt plenty.
"You can do nothing about the draw, it's what you do with it. I think you're looking back to Slip Anchor at the last one who won from stall 3 but he's in great form and hopefully he can win from there.
William Haggas’s Maltese Cross gets the inside gate in 1, while Ralph Beckett’s Bay Of Brilliance, the horse he beat narrowly in the Lingfield trial, will come from stall 9.
Ancient Egypt (10), Alderman (6), Balzac (2), Poker (4), Rebel Rocker (14) and the Joseph O’Brien-trained Leopardstown winner James J Braddock (13) complete the line-up.
Betfred Derby final field (and draw TBC)
1. Action TBC (Stall: 11)
2. Alderman Pat Dobbs (Stall: 6)
3. Ancient Egypt David Egan (Stall: 10)
4. A Taste Of Glory Jamie Spencer (Stall: 7)
5. Balzac Silvestre de Sousa (Stall: 2)
6. Bay Of Brilliance Hector Crouch (Stall: 9)
7. Benvenuto Cellini TBC (Stall: 12)
8. Christmas Day TBC (Stall: 8)
9. Item Colin Keane (Stall: 3)
10. James J Braddock Dylan Browne McMonagle (Stall: 13)
11. Maltese Cross Tom Marquand (Stall: 1)
12. Pierre Bonnard TBC (Stall: 8)
13. Poker Rowan Scott (Stall: 4)
14. Rebel Rocker Rob Hornby (Stall: 14)
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