A field of ten will head to the 1m 4f start for the 2025 Irish Derby and half of the field will be trained by Aidan O’Brien, who bids for a record-extending 17th victory in the Curragh Classic. Our man Steve Chambers fancies the master of Ballydoyle to reign supreme once again, but not with the obvious one in Lambourn, but a lively outsider that could run a huge race.
Favourites
Spearheading the O’Brien battalion will be recent Epsom Derby hero Lambourn, who is looking to join some iconic three-year-old colts by winning the English and Irish Derby. A runaway winner of the British Classic at Epsom a few weeks ago, Lambourn is looking to reign supreme once again and is entitled to be a red-hot favourite for this event. Sure to be sent to the front from the outset, he will look to dominate once again, but he’s unlikely to get as soft a lead on Sunday, so could prove vulnerable and is one to ignore at short odds.
Joseph O’Brien won this race aboard Camelot back in 2012, but he’s looking for his first win in the race as a trainer and he will saddle the next in the betting in Tennessee Stud, who was third in the Derby. He was just behind Lazy Griff at Epsom and Charlie Johnston’s raider is ready for a tilt across the Irish Sea and that pair are looking to hand their young trainers victory in the race. Both ran stormers in behind Lambourn at Epsom and are sure to put up a bold effort once again, but will need to improve to reverse the form and may not have the class to do so here.
The Best Free Bets & Betting Offers For Irish Derby
We pick out some of the best free bets and betting offers for Sunday’s Irish Derby, which is run at the Curragh at 4:10pm.
| Bookmaker | Offer |
| Dabble | Get £10 Free Bet – No Deposit Required |
| SkyBet | Bet 5p Get £30 in Free Bets |
| Paddy Power | Bet £5 Get £30 In Free Bets |
| BoyleSports | Bet £10 Get £40 In Free Bets |
Well fancied for the Derby after romping to victory in the Dante Stakes at York, Pride Of Arras is looking to bounce back from a shocker at Epsom, where he finished last. He never handled the track that day, so Ralph Beckett’s star will enjoy a return to a more conventional track, but he was so lacklustre in that Epsom race that he wouldn’t be one you can be sure follows up his win on the Knavesmire.
Jessica Harrington bids for a first Irish Derby success and she will unleash Green Impact, who has won three of his five career starts and having finished sixth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket then relished the step up in trip to win a Leopardstown Listed contest. With more improvement to come stepping up in trip then he’s certainly one that has to be considered a potential challenger for victory.
Outsiders
Four of the five other runners will be sent from the O’Brien yard and Serious Contender takes his chance on the back of a fine second placed finish in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot last week. Well beaten by the well-handicapped Merchant, that relentless galloper is one that could improve again, but this is a huge step up from Group company here.
One of the O’Brien contenders that could be a potential thorn in the side of his stablemate Lambourn is Puppet Master, who was taken out at Royal Ascot last week, but had previously won the Lingfield Derby Trial back at the start of May. He won on the nod that day, but was doing all his best work in the closing stages of the race, so if Lambourn does make this a decent test then he could be one that picks up the pieces in the closing stages and could be more than capable of galloping past his rivals in the final furlong.
Thrice and Shackleton will complete the O’Brien quintet and these two look to be up against it as the former has to improve significantly on what he’s shown so far, while the latter was sixth in the Queen’s Vase last week and drops back in trip. Sir Dinadan completes the line-up and is a second shot fired by the Beckett team, but this raider could be used as a pacemaker to Pride Of Arras, so is unlikely to feature in the closing stages.
2025 Irish Derby Tips
Lambourn was a fine winner of the Derby at Epsom, but he’s unlikely to get such a soft lead out in front and he could be tackled from all angles through the early stages. This could leave the door open to a stayer and PUPPET MASTER has shown he could relish this sort of test and he looks to be the value play for the O’Brien team. Green Impact has shown lots of qualities during his career and he could well chase home the shock Ballydoyle winner, with Lambourn having to settle for third.
- Puppet Master
- Green Impact
- Lambourn
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