Now that Jan Vermeer has added his name to the roster of potential Epsom Derby candidates trained by Ballydoyle maestro Aidan O'Brien, the very real prospect looms of the leading Irish handler sending out the 1-2-3 in the forthcoming colts' classic on June 5th, writes Elliot Slater.
O'Brien's dominance of the ante-post betting markets is so great that the barely thinkable could well happen, much in the same way that Michael Dickinson saddled the first five horses home in the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
St Nicholas Abbey remains a rock solid 2/1 favourite despite his eclipse in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket at the start of May, and Jan Vermeer gained rave reviews for his seasonal return when romping to success at the Curragh last weekend. Should O'Brien choose to do so, he could run both leading market fancies along with wide margin Dante winner Cape Blanco and the comfortable Leopardstown Group 2 scorer Midas Touch. These are the four horses who currently head the ante-post list ahead of the Henry Cecil-trained Bullet Train and they are bound to dominate in lists of free horse racing tips.
Of course, it is more likely that O'Brien will divert one or more of the Epsom entries to take up the challenge of the French Derby at Chantilly the day after Epsom. Jan Vermeer is considered by some to be most likely to take on the French on their home soil having showed a particularly high cruising speed that could serve him well in the two furlong shorter Gallic classic.
The Ballydoyle permutations are many and varied, but it is significant that Skybet, one of the few bookmakers prepared to bet on the O'Brien 1-2-3, make the Irish handler just a 6/1 chance to pull off what would be a feat of epic proportions. I'm not sure it would be one of my Derby tips though.
Indeed, I wouldn't bet on O'Brien sending out the first three home in this year's Epsom Derby but, like many neutral racing fans, I would dearly love to see it happen.
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