Battle Of Marengo: set for Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday
PICTURE: Getty Images, BY RACING POST STAFF 6:55PM 11 MAY 2013
BATTLE OF MARENGO will seek to close a week that has seen three Ballydoyle horses announce themselves as Investec Derby contenders by reaffirming he is the stable’s number one Classic candidate.
Leopardstown (IRE)SUNDAY, 12 MAY 2013, DERRINSTOWN STUD DERBY TRIAL STAKES (Group 2) (3yo)
| NO. DRAW FORM |
HORSE | AGE | WGT OR |
JOCKEY TRAINER RTF% |
TS | RPR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143111-1 |  |
BATTLE OF MARENGO
 28 |
3 |
9-6
115
|
103 | 122 | ||
| 223114- |  |
FIRST CORNERSTONE
197
|
3 |
9-6
111
|
A Oliver39
|
94 | 120 | |
| 3511- |  |
LOCH GARMAN
192
|
3 |
9-6
114
|
75 | 121 | ||
| 4365-228 |  |
DONT BOTHER ME
 8 |
3 |
9-3
105
|
Niall Moran100
|
93 | 114 | |
| 5141- |  |
LITTLE WHITE CLOUD
177
|
3 |
9-3
91
|
48 | 93 | ||
| The colt runs for Aidan O’Brien in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown on Sunday seeking his fifth consecutive victory following a top-class performance at the same track last month. | ||||||||
That victory, in the Ballysax, announced the colt as Ballydoyle’s leading Epsom hope and neither the top performances of Ruler Of The World and Magician at Chester nor the easy victory in a weak race of Nevis at Lingfield on Saturday have surpassed the impression of that victory.
He remains 5-1 second favourite for the Derby behind Dawn Approach and is expected to cap his preparation for the Classic with straightforward victory at Leopardstown, where he is a 4-9 favourite against four rivals.
O’Brien said: “Battle Of Marengo is in good form. We haven’t done an awful lot with him since the Ballysax, but his performance was good that day for his first run of the season and all has gone well with him.
“He handles soft ground but we’ve always thought that better ground would suit him more.”
Chief among Battle Of Marengo’s rivals at Leopardstown is the Jim Bolger-trained Group 1-winner Loch Garman, who followed up a maiden win at Navan on his debut in October with victory in the Group 1 Criterium International in France eight days later.
Those wins were on heavy ground but his trainer said: “He doesn’t mind what ground he gets. He’s in good form and is a horse with plenty of toe, so he could take in the Irish 2,000 Guineas depending on how he comes out of tomorrow’s race.”
The going description at Leopardstown was yielding, good to yielding in places on Saturday evening.
The course’s racing and operations manager Nessa Joyce said: We have had a few showers today which passed through quickly and didn’t have much effect on the ground.
“Tomorrow is due to be overcast, with the possibility of more showers.
“However, the Met Office has told us that we will be very unlucky if we get more than 5mm between tonight and tomorrow, and so we are not expecting ground conditions to deteriorate too much.”
fonte. RacingPost
