Aidan O'Brien on his Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby runners

The son of Frankel was an impressive winner of the Chester Vase and the choice of the stable jockey at Epsom where he was controversially deemed to be a non-runner after finishing tenth behind stablemate Christmas Day having been found to have his hind-leg on the shelf of the stalls as the gates opened.

One thing the trainer does feel is in his favour at the weekend will be the quicker ground.

“He was always a beautiful mover and soft ground was never his thing. We knew that from running at Doncaster but that was the way it fell (at Epsom). Obviously he has different things that we think could change the result completely from Epsom from the ground, the stalls and where he ended up in the race," he told Racing TV.

“There are a lot of different reasons why it could change and I’m delighted Ryan wanted to stay on him. He obviously just put a line through the run in his head and obviously nobody has a better idea than him. He’s ridden him in his races and rode him at Epsom where he was beaten a mile but he didn’t want to change.

“He knows it’s going to be an evenly-run race and even though he’s draw, out, he’s still happy to do it.”

O'Brien admits all eyes will be on Benvenuto Cellini at the start and warned the colt does have a tendency to raise his hind leg once loaded.

“He’s done a lot of stalls work at home since and I’d imagine he’ll look to load a little later because he just has a habit of lifting his hind leg and putting it out," he continued.

"The lads said even when they put him in at home he’s doing it. It’s a very unusual thing and not a panicking thing. When he got it up on the ledge and couldn’t get it down in time, that’s very unusual. He’s stood in a lot but he still does it.”

Meanwhile, the trainer insists Betfred Derby winner Christmas Day will handle the quicker conditions at the Curragh despite his best form to date coming with some cut in the ground.

“I don’t think the ground is a problem to him, he stays very well and obviously he’s a horse who’ll have no problem going further than a mile-and-a-half. He’s a good moving colt, he’s not a Camelot or any other horse that uses his knee a lot. He’s a good mover, is relaxed and does stay very well," he said.

“He’s very straightforward. He does handle soft ground because he stays very well but everyone will know they’re following him I’d say.”

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