San Francisco Frontiers - Irish racing great O'Brien bids to make Epsom Derby history

The 56-year-old Irish trainer's Benvenuto Cellini is the favourite but a strong home challenge could thwart his hopes of becoming the first trainer to win the race on four successive occasions.

If he were to succeed, it would also be his record-extending 12th Epsom Derby victory.

AFP Sport picks out four lively contenders from the 14 runners in a race commonly referred to as the 'Blue Riband' of British flat racing:

Benvenuto Cellini

Named after an Italian sculptor, he heads the four-pronged O'Brien team -- Action, Christmas Day and Pierre Bonnard the others -- and is the pick of first-choice jockey Ryan Moore.

Benvenuto Cellini -- who has been drawn in stall 12 like two of O'Brien's previous winners, Australia (2014) and Serpentine (2020) -- is favourite based on his impressive win in last month's Chester Vase.

He certainly has his trainer purring.

"Benvenuto is the most incredible mover, very like his grandad (2001 winner Galileo)," he told the Racing Post.

"He might be a bit quicker than him, too. But he has that beautifully balanced action. His movement is incredible. He moves with so much class."

Item

The unbeaten English runner presents trainer Andrew Balding with a great chance to emulate his late father Ian, who trained the legendary Mill Reef to win the 1971 Epsom Derby.

Balding has twice come close to winning the race, with Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal filling the runners-up spot in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

Item became a live contender when he won the influential Derby trial the Dante Stakes at York last month, beating both Action and Christmas Day.

"He's a horse we've always liked and it seems to me that the further he goes the better he gets, which has got to give us some hope for Epsom," said Balding, who also saddles outsider A Taste of Glory.

"The difficult thing is he is still quite a raw horse and it can be a tricky track for inexperienced horses, that would be my concern."

Balding, 53, grew up with a statue of Mill Reef in the stable yard -- come Saturday evening Item may have earned the right to be similarly honoured.

James J. Braddock

Named after the American who was heavyweight boxing world champion from 1935-37, he has earned his right to battle for the title after beating Pierre Bonnard in a derby trial in Ireland.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien's son Joseph, who rode Camelot and Australia to Derby glory for his father, the Braddock family have taken a keen interest in the horse.

"We actually had an email in the office at Joseph O'Brien's a few weeks ago from a lady in America saying, 'You won't believe how much pleasure we got from seeing that a horse was called James J. Braddock, because would you believe my husband is James J. Braddock's grandson'," said the horse's co-owner Kevin Blake.

Blake, who is normally to be seen in front of the camera acting as a pundit for English broadcaster ITV, says that there are similarities between the human and equine Braddocks.

"I think he fits the bill a little bit," he said.

"The 1935 heavyweight champion of the world, Irish-American man that met some very hard times in his life and came back and won the heavyweight title against all the odds.

"He was a 10-1 shot when he won the heavyweight title and James J. Braddock is a 10-1 shot now."

Maltese Cross

Owned by Hollywood producer George Waud and trained by William Haggas, who won the Derby with Shaamit in 1996, Maltese Cross has won three of his four races, including his last outing the Lingfield Derby trial.

Waud, drawing on his experience in the film industry, has compared Maltese Cross to Samuel L. Jackson, who starred in one of the films which the 59-year-old Briton produced, Snakes on a Plane.

"The thing I can say about Samuel L. Jackson is he was a one-take wonder," said Waud.

"He always nailed his line in one take and, so far, Maltese Cross has been a bit of a one-take wonder."

D.Brown--SFF