Five key takeaways from morning at Ballydoyle as Aidan O'Brien considers his Epsom team

1. Dante key to Derby team

“Aaron, Freya, Liam, Kerry, Ronan, Dean, Derek, Tara.”

Aidan O’Brien is greeting his assembled work riders for first lot, clad in Ballydoyle blue. The cap advertises Henri Matisse, the coat – and you need a coat on a slightly chilly Tipperary morning – is emblazoned with Delacroix.

We’re here to chat Betfred Derby, in the main, and there’s plenty to talk about.

Having blitzed through trials season so far O’Brien has five of the top seven in the Derby betting, but his Epsom team is not as straightforward as looking at those at the top of the market.

Benvenuto Cellini, or ‘The Vase Winner’, looks assured of his place in the Derby, as does Pierre Bonnard with Aidan very much keeping the faith with him – “the pace was probably too slow for him, but he still ran very well. I would think and we think that he would step up big time next time going a mile and a half."

But after those two things get a bit hazy. Especially after O'Brien suggested on Monday that Constitution River, the Betfred Derby second favourite, could miss the race in favour of the French equivalent the weekend before.

Expect everything to clear up once the final trial is run – Thursday’s Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York. If Christmas Day wins that and wins it well, his place at Epsom will likely be cemented.

But with commercial considerations at the forefront of everything you see at Ballydoyle and Coolmore, the prospect of Constitution River shunning 1m4f around Epsom in favour of the speedier test in the Prix du Jockey Club begins to look more and more obvious.

2. Kinky Amelia looks a beast

“Amelia Earhart has a kink in her,” says O’Brien with a smile. His Betfred Oaks favourite has her quirks, but that’s part of what makes her the talent she is. There’s a bit of fire in her and you can see it even as she trots around before second lot.

This explains the hood and blinkers combination that she sported during her Cheshire Oaks win last week.

It’s a headgear mix that O’Brien has hardly ever used before and he admits himself that it should be a contradiction.

“It didn't make any sense, because one is to slow her down (hood) and the other is to drive her forward (blinkers),” he said. “But sometimes things don't make sense.

“If they work, you just do them. So whatever way she thinks, that calms her down the best. And that's when she gets into the right place."

On Monday she’s sporting the hood and blinkers in her work under Champion Hurdle-winning jockey Dean Gallagher, who confirms her well-being with a grin and a wink. O’Brien dare not take them off now, not after she looked so good at Chester.

“She did behave very well in Chester. And Chester is probably as close to Epsom that you will get. And it's on a lesser scale, less pressure. But all the things are there. You know what I mean? The people, the track, the crowd. They have to deal with a lot of stuff."

That suggests Oaks day will be just fine for the daughter of Camelot. And if her rivals can’t expose the kink, she could prove very tough to beat.

3. Coronation Cup plan of action

“I’ve given you the plan, it’s very straightforward!”

You can take from that it will be Lambourn who will make the running in the £1million Group 1 Coolmore Coronation Cup.

“I tell you,” O’Brien goes on, “he'd be a fair horse to go off in front there now. He'd be a brave man to let him go, wouldn't he? I wouldn't like to be giving him too much rope around Epsom. So, it will be an interesting race.”

It’s all set to be just that and Lambourn, thriving since his hard-ridden Huxley Stakes success, isn’t even the stable number one.

That would be last year’s Coronation Cup winner, Jan Brueghel, and O’Brien hopes the rematch with Calandagan is on.

“If Calandagan comes over, that will make it a proper race. And it'll be exciting then for everyone to see what's going to happen, won't it? We want all the big horses to turn up on all those big days and then everyone can have an opinion.

“I think Ryan would ride Jan Brueghel. The horse got sick after he won last year’s race. He started choking on a piece of hay one day, nearly died, and he got pneumonia. So that's why you didn't see him. He has done very well to get back to where he is."

“Chester was perfect for both Lambourn and Jan Brueghel. We were very happy with Jan Brueghel (in the Ormonde), I thought it was a lovely run.

“I thought Ryan did well on Lambourn (in the Huxley Stakes) because he never got to sit for one stride. When you see it, it's unusual that a horse could do that and still win. Like, he rooted him out, and he was going all the way and kept digging.”

That’s what Lambourn does. And after doing it over 10 furlongs last time, he’s not a bad front-running second string to have on your side in a race that is back where it belongs on Derby day.

4. O’Brien ready to flick the switch with Albert

“Albert. He’s coming.”

I bet you could’ve guessed it, but O’Brien retains all of his faith in Albert Einstein.

Proclaimed as the next big thing in the spring, he’s been beaten twice over seven furlongs this season, including in the Greenham last time, but he’s on the sprinting trail now and is all set to take in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock on May 23 before having a crack at the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

He looks an absolute picture this morning.

“I know everyone is disappointed, but we had to go all the little steps with him as he’s very highly strung,” said O’Brien.

“He’s going to go back to Haydock for the Sandy Lane, with Brussels. We are nearly there with him. If we are not there for this one we’ll be there for the next one.

“He’s going back to six and he did (run well in the Greenham). He doesn’t really know what to do yet because we had the brakes on him the whole time.

“When Ryan dropped him in in the Greenham in the hood he said he didn’t know what to do.

“Our gut was that he was a sprinter. But we still had to go through the motions with him and mentally it was good for him to do what we did, because it was slowing him down.

“The minute we flick the switch with him, there’ll be no turning back.

“We might leave it off (the hood). That’s something to think about. I’d like to (let him loose on the lead) but Brussels might go for him, so he might not have to."

Do you retain the faith? Maybe I’m blinded by Aidan’s belief, but I’ve a feeling Albert Einstein will be box office viewing over six furlongs at some point. He just needs to be unleashed.

5. Commercial break

It was a rare treat to spend a morning with Aidan on the Ballydoyle gallops before being guided around beautiful, sprawling Coolmore.

City Of Troy, Delacroix, St Mark’s Basilica, Camille Pissarro, No Nay Never and Auguste Rodin looked magnificent with only fleeting sympathy given to teaser pony, Winston. On reflection, he doesn’t have a bad life.

Auguste Rodin has settled into life as a Coolmore stallion particularly well. He covered 210 mares last year, a big number for a freshman sire, and he shuttles to New Zealand while being nominated at €27,500 a pop.

He’s not the only active Derby winner on the premises with Camelot, Australia and City Of Troy also on site and they do so under the gaze of the statues of their forefathers, including Galileo, who Aidan still considers his greatest of them all.

“What was the best Derby winner we ever had? I would say it was Galileo. And he proved to be probably one of the greatest stallions ever. That's what Epsom does. It's very tough, but you will get the blood that you really want going forward."

And there it is, a magnetic pull to Epsom pulsing through the heart of the whole Ballydoyle and Coolmore operation. Perhaps it won’t be enough for O'Brien to send Constitution River to the Derby, but, if that’s the case, it’s only because he doesn’t need him.

More from Sporting Life

• Free bets
• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.