The Irish Derby is one of the most prestigious Group 1 races on the Irish racing calendar and is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies.
Contested over a distance of 1m 4f at the Curragh, the Irish Derby is the equivalent of the Epsom Derby held in the UK and is traditionally staged three weeks after that race.
As one of the Irish Classic Races, it always attracts a high-quality field from home and abroad and a total of 18 horses have completed the English-Irish Derby double, the most recent being the Dermot Weld-trained Harzand in 2016.
What | Irish Derby |
Where | Curragh Racecourse, County Kildare |
When | 15:40, Sunday 2nd July |
How to watch | bet365 Sports Live Streaming & Racing TV |
Odds | Auguste Rodin 1/3, White Birch 5/1, Sprewell 5/1, Up And Under 12/1, Knight To King 16/1 |
The Irish Derby is traditionally held three weeks after the Epsom Derby, which usually means it falls in either late June or early July on the second day of the annual Irish Derby Festival meeting.
The 2023 renewal of the race is scheduled to take place at 3.40 on Sunday 2nd July.
Like all the Irish Classics, the Irish Derby is staged at the iconic Curragh Racecourse in County Kildare.
The modern Irish Derby was first run at the venue in 1866 and the 2023 edition will be the 158th staging of the prestigious Group 1 contest.
The Irish Derby, like all racing action in the UK and Ireland, is available to watch via bet365's Sports Live Streaming platform.
Alternatively, the race will also be available on television via Racing TV and on RTE in Ireland.
It is no surprise to see the name of Aidan O'Brien at the top of the list when it comes to the most successful trainer in Irish Derby history.
The Ballydoyle handler has won the race a record 14 times, with the first of those successes coming via Desert King in 1997.
Since then, Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Dylan Thomas (2006), Soldier of Fortune (2007), Frozen Fire (2008), Fame and Glory (2009), Cape Blanco (2010), Treasure Beach (2011), Camelot (2012), Australia (2014), Capri (2017) and Sovereign (2019) have all won the race for O'Brien, as has Santiago, who was his most recent scorer in 2020.
Perhaps surprisingly, it is not an O'Brien-associated jockey that has claimed the most Irish Derby wins, with those successes having been split amongst the likes of Joseph O'Brien, Johnny Murtagh and Seamie Heffernan.
Instead it is Morny Wing who holds the accolade for the most successes, as he claimed six wins between 1921 and 1946.
The fastest ever time recorded by an Irish Derby winner was set by St Jovite, who clocked a time of 2:25.60 in 1992 under the guide of jockey Christy Roche and trainer Jim Bolger.
That is a pace that is not likely to be beaten anytime soon, with the 2022 winner, Westover, coming in over nine seconds slower than that record pace.
Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
2010 | Cape Blanco | Johnny Murtagh | Aidan O'Brien |
2011 | Treasure Beach | Colm O'Donoghue | Aidan O'Brien |
2012 | Camelot | Joseph O'Brien | Aidan O'Brien |
2013 | Trading Leather | Kevin Manning | Jim Bolger |
2014 | Australia | Joseph O'Brien | Aidan O'Brien |
2015 | Jack Hobbs | William Buick | John Gosden |
2016 | Harzand | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld |
2017 | Capri | Seamie Heffernan | Aidan O'Brien |
2018 | Latrobe | Donnacha O'Brien | Joseph O'Brien |
2019 | Sovereign | Padraig Beggy | Aidan O'Brien |
2020 | Santiago | Seamie Heffernan | Aidan O'Brien |
2021 | Hurricane Lane | William Buick | Charlie Appleby |
2022 | Westover | Colin Keane | Ralph Beckett |
A total of 11 horses hold entries in this year's Irish Derby ahead of final declarations and it is Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin who is the current favourite at 1/3.
Auguste Rodin would become the 19th horse to complete the English-Irish Derby double should he emerge victorious, while also adding a 15th Irish Derby success to O'Brien's name.
The John Murphy-trained White Birch (5/1) and Sprewell (5/1) from Jessica Harrington's yard finished third and fourth in the Epsom Derby respectively and may prove to be Auguste Rodin's main challengers this time around.
Up And Under (12/1) finished second to Sprewell in the Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown in May and could also challenge for trainer Joseph O'Brien, while Knight To King (16/1) holds the hopes for three-time Irish Derby winner Dermot Weld.
The remaining contenders are the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Proud And Regal (20/1), the rest of Aidan O'Brien's contingent - Adelaide River (33/1), Peking Opera (40/1), San Antonio (66/1) and Covent Garden (66/1) - as well as Ralph Beckett's Salt Bay (50/1).
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