Ryan Moore will keep the faith with Mogul in Saturday’s Investec Derby, a decision that must have been close to impossible to make after his dour run at Royal Ascot.
Aidan O’Brien will send six runners to post in the Classic and the betting market would suggest that Mogul is his best chance in the race.
He ran a very disappointing race behind Pyledriver in last month’s King Edward VII Stakes when fourth and he has to improve massively on that effort to land a blow in the Derby.
Seamie Heffernan has a hectic weekend ahead of him, travelling to Epsom on Saturday to ride Russian Emperor before heading on to France the next day to ride Irish 1000 Guineas winner Peaceful in the Prix de Diane.
Padraig Beggy has picked up a fantastic ride on Vatican City in the Derby, a horse that went into many notebooks after a fast-finishing runner-up finish in the Irish 2000 Guineas.
It will be a weekend to remember for Rathkeale native Emmet McNamara, who is booked to ride Serpentine in the Epsom feature before he travels to France the next day to ride Fort Myers in the Prix du Jockey Club.
Aidan O’Brien was quoted saying: “Seamie will ride in the Derby and Oaks in England and France. We spoke with France Galop and they have told us he can do that.”
The remaining two Ballydoyle runners in the Investec Derby will be Mythical and Amhran Na Bhfiann, and they will be partnered by James Doyle and William Buick.
Once the final declarations were made, Aidan O’Brien said: “We’ve been happy with Mogul since Ascot. We think he’s gone the right way since his last run.”
Many will be surprised that Ryan is keeping faith with Mogul as he really didn’t look anything remotely close to a potential Derby winner, but he probably just needed the blowout and the market would suggest he will be a different horse this week.