- Ryan Moore offers insight into his rides at the Irish Derby Festival
- Moore is preparing to take part in eight Curragh tours
Ryan Moore is looking forward to a busy weekend of racing as he prepares to take part in eight races.
The jockey will be heavily involved in the Irish Derby Festival.
Here, Betfair ambassador Moore looks back on his journey.
Jockey Ryan Moore is set for a busy weekend of racing at the Irish Derby Festival
SATURDAY
13:15 Curragh
Rock of Cashel
We had eight here, but we have confidence in three of the newcomers, all of whom have much to recommend them in terms of pedigree and preparation, although the experience of the first day will do them all well. I would have loved to ride any of the three, but I’ll stick with Rock Of Cashel, a Wootton Bassett half-brother to Snowfall.
14:20 Curragh
Truly charming
We had six here and we ran three of them. It’s fair to say we expected a little more from Truly Enchanting at Royal Ascot last week, but he didn’t run badly and I think the increased distance will suit him well. If he runs at the level of his debut win in Tipperary in a good time then I expect a bold performance.
14:55 Curragh
Jan Brueghel
He was clearly very impressive to me when he won by a wide margin on his debut here last month. Obviously this is a much tougher test (I’m not sure how strong that maiden was, but she couldn’t have done better) and I hope this imposing Galileo colt can perform in this top grade. Bolster could be the opponent to beat, but there is no form that stands out here.
Jan Brueghel faces a challenge, but he will look to prevail and surpass Bolster.
15:30 Curragh
Content
Last year she got better as the season went on and finished a decent eighth in the French 1,000 Guineas on her return. She now has her sights set a little lower after Royal Ascot (although it is obviously a Group 1 too, with very good mares such as Bluestocking and Emily Upjohn here) and that was a bit of a non-event for her as she never really got into the race.
She obviously needs to improve to be competitive here, but perhaps the step up to 1m2f will suit this Galileo filly.
17:15 Curragh
John Steinbeck
None of the horses in the race set the bar too high, so let’s hope he gets his chance. He’s by Dubawi and out of a mare who won her Group 3 here, so the pedigree is there and hopefully the talent is there too.
SUNDAY
Moore will also take part in three races at the Curragh on Sunday as he chases glory.
13:40 Curragh
tunbridge wells
We had four here, all of whom would have performed well, and the only one who stepped aside was Whistlejacket. Tenebrism’s half-brother Henri Matisse showed a willing attitude here for me in his debut, and he is a colt with some potential. I also thought Tunbridge Wells were very impressive in beating runners-up Queen Mary last time. We also race Gowran winner The Parthenon but I haven’t ridden him before.
Any of the three have the potential to go and win this, although it’s certainly not just our horses with Arizona Blaze and York winner The Strikin Viking in the line-up, but my mount Tunbridge Wells, who wears cheekpieces here, has achieved the most of ours to date.
15:25 Curragh
World
Both of our colts have to improve to win this but Master Of The Hunt did well last time (it was probably a career-best mark in cheekbones for the first time) and we think my mount Mundi is better than he showed for me behind Chief Little Rock here last time.
The soft ground did not suit him and he did not last even a metre and a half in those conditions, so this surface, which was expected to be better, will suit him well. I liked this beautifully bred colt, brother to Churchill among others, when he won on his debut at Dundalk.
16:05 Curragh
the Angels
Epsom runner-up Ambiente Friendly is clearly the one to beat (and his win at Lingfield has also suited him well) but Los Angeles is progressing well in his own right and hopefully he can step up to meet the challenge. He is more than 3 lengths clear of Ambiente Friendly in his Derby run but, as I said, let’s hope his rate of progress hasn’t stopped just yet.
And hopefully a different day, on a different road, will produce a different result. Matsuri is the unknown here, but this is a big step up in class after his certainly impressive win at Leicester. Our other horses are certainly not worthless, but Los Angeles is our obvious number one heading into the race.