Camelot - the centre of attention in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh
All eyes are on Camelot, as he seeks to land victory in the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on 30th June, 2012, where he will be aiming to extend his unbeaten record before the Triple Crown bid.
At age 3, the young runner has a record that speaks for itself. Undefeated in four starts, he is aiming to land the fifth one in this race that covers a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien is confident that the son of Montjeu will be able to tackle the soft surface of the track in an effective manner, but still has some concerns as he stated:
“We would have to have concerns if it went very soft and it is not ideal and the more it dries out, the better it is for him."
The Derrick Smith owned runner will be paired up with his usual jockey, Joseph O’Brien, who mounted him in all his starts.
They duo will break out of post number 3, and will compete against two of his stable-mates, Imperial Monarch, and Astrology along with the John M. Oxx trained, Akeed Mofeed.
The bay colt will race as a favourite with a 1 to 5 chance.
The trainer believes that winning this race is not a big deal for the runner, who is lined-up to score bigger victories over the course of his career.
A. P. O’Brien believes that the talented colt can recreate history, and become the first Triple Crown winner since 1970.
Commenting on his previous victories and the consistency of the ground, Aidan O’ Brien commented:
"He's been special all along. He won the Racing Post Trophy last year, then he was very impressive in the Guineas and in the Epsom Derby, which was his last start. He's always shown a lot of speed, a lot of class, a lot of courage, so he's just one
of those unique horses that come along very rarely."
A huge crowd will assemble to watch this mega-event, and in the hope of attracting a bigger crowd, the race has been moved to Saturday instead of its traditional slot of Sunday.
Aidan O’Brien has saddled last six winners of the Irish Derby and nine in all, but this will be his chance to make it a perfect ten with Camelot’s victory.
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