Delacroix delighting O'Brien with Derby preparation
The Dubawi colt, who is out of the late and great Tepin, has won both starts this year, in the Ballysax Stakes and the Leopardstown Derby Trial, a route taken in the past by the likes of O'Brien giants such as Galileo and High Chaparral.
In the Ballysax he beat fellow Epsom entrant and stablemate Lambourn, who went on to take the Chester Vase in good style.
Added into the mix is winter Classic favourite The Lion In Winter, who may have failed to land a blow in the Dante but is far from out of the equation as his trainer has plenty of form for making a Derby winner out of a horse beaten in a trial.
Ryan Moore will have the choice of Aidan O'Brien's Derby runners (Brian Lawless/PA)
Those are the options O'Brien anticipates stable jockey Moore will be presented with, with Delacroix seemingly considered the more persuasive choice at this stage.
'The three strongest horses at the moment for the Derby are Lambourn, the horse that won the Chester Vase, Delacroix, who won in Leopardstown, and the horse that ran in the Dante (The Lion In Winter). They look the three strongest,' O'Brien said.
'I would imagine Ryan has the choice between them. The horse in the Dante has to come on and everything has to go right for him, and it has gone right so far.
'Delacroix has done absolutely everything perfect so far. He has done everything right and his preparation has gone perfect.
'He's by Dubawi, but his sister by Galileo (Grateful) won over a mile and six (Prix de Royallieu). He's a total outcross, he's out of a superstar mare and he's by Dubawi so he's a very exciting type of horse.
'They've another couple of weeks to go. I would imagine Ryan will find it hard not to ride him, but that doesn't mean he won't ride him.'
Giselle in winning action at Lingfield (John Walton/PA)
O'Brien also holds a strong hand for the Oaks, and expects Minnie Hauk, Giselle and Whirl to be key players from Ballydoyle.
He said: 'In the Oaks, the filly that won at Chester (Minnie Hauk), the filly that won the Lingfield trial (Giselle) and the filly the filly that won the Musidora (Whirl) are the strongest ones.
'What will happen is that the lads will decide a week or ten days before. I would imagine those six are on that route.'
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Runner-up to stablemate Delacroix over 1m 2f on reappearance, before winning Group 3 Chester Vase over this trip. Needs to improve a lot. ⭐⭐⭐ Stanhope Gardens (2) – 16/1 with Betfred Trainer: Ralph Beckett; Jockey: Hector Crouch: Ran green when third behind Ruling Court in a 7f maiden at Sandown on their debuts last year and later finished a close second to Delacroix in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes over a mile at Newmarket. Has had an unconventional prep, returning only two weeks ago to win what was little better than an egg-and-spoon race over a mile at Salisbury. His connections have been keen to get him here but he needs to improve, which he may do for this trip. ⭐⭐⭐ Midak (4) – 16/1 with Betfred Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard; Jockey: Mickael Barzalona: French-trained runner who seems to have surprised his connections, as he wasn't originally entered in this race or some other big events but has been supplemented into this field for £75,000. Goes for the Aga Khan Studs and this year's Derby is being run in honour of the late owner, His Highness Aga Khan IV, whose five Derby winners include Shergar. Successful on all three starts in France, most recently the 1m 2½f Group 3 Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud, which Mickael Barzalona won on Pour Moi before their Derby win in 2011. Not as flashy as some of these, but he'll stay well. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Nightwalker (5) – 25/1 with Betfred Trainer: John and Thady Gosden; Jockey: Tom Marquand: Another by Frankel and out of a half-sister to same connections' Logician (by Frankel), who won the St Leger over 1m 6½f. Looks to need this trip and more, most recently keeping on after getting behind in the 1m 2f Dante Stakes at York (behind two of these rivals). May not be fast enough, but his best is still to come. Now fitted with cheekpieces for the first time. ⭐⭐⭐ Tennessee Stud (12) – 33/1 with Betfred Trainer: Joseph O'Brien; Jockey: Dylan Browne McMonagle: Successful in a three-runner Group 1 race over 1m 2f on heavy ground in France last year (Green Storm second). That race was won the previous season by the same owner's Los Angeles, who was then third in this race and won the Irish Derby. This race has been the plan ever since France. Was beaten almost seven lengths into third by Delacroix at Leopardstown on his reappearance (1m 2f), but a steady early pace placed the emphasis on speed, and he will have needed the run, as his connections chose to skip the early Derby trials. Stamina looks like his game and he's a big horse who has improvement in him. Might not be the worst outsider. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tornado Alert (11) – 33/1 with Betfred Trainer: Saeed bin Suroor; Jockey: Oisin Murphy: Front-running fourth behind Ruling Court in the 2,000 Guineas over a mile at Newmarket on his reappearance. 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Presumably he needed the run, but his stamina is questionable looking at the pedigree. ⭐ Sea Scout (18) – 100/1 with Betfred Trainer: Simon and Ed Crisford; Jockey: Harry Davies: Another by the 2009 winner Sea The Stars. Narrowly won 1m 2f Listed race here on reappearance, before fading behind a few of these in the Dante at York, where he took a keen hold. Hard to fancy. ⭐ Lazy Griff (3) – 100/1 with Betfred Trainer: Charlie Johnston; Jockey: Christophe Soumillon: Beaten into second by Lambourn in the 1m 4f Chester Vase on his reappearance, but the winner was race-fit whereas this colt had reportedly missed a workout and was short of peak fitness. Plenty of improvement needed but he stays and won't mind rain, so he's worth considering at huge odds. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ Nightime Dancer (9) – 150/1 with Betfred Trainer: Richard Hannon; Jockey: Jamie Spencer: Raced wide into the straight when third in the Lingfield Derby Trial (the first two finishers are missing from this race) and it's possible the ground was too fast for him. Needs to do way more now, but he isn't dismissed. ⭐⭐ Green Storm (8) – 200/1 with Betfred Trainer: Charlie Johnston; Jockey: Billy Loughnane: Second of three behind Tennessee Stud in a Group 1 race over 1m 2f in France last year. Found 1m 1f too short when a well-beaten fourth in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket on reappearance. His dam won a Group 2 race over 1m 4f and he can improve for this test, but he doesn't look good enough. ⭐⭐ Odds courtesy of Betfred and correct at time of writing. Royal Ascot is less than two weeks away. 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