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Jessica Harrington is no stranger to landing horse racing’s top prizes and victory in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby this weekend would be right up there with her best achievements.

The Kildare-based trainer has won Gold Cups, Champion Hurdles and Champion Chases at Cheltenham as well as some of flat racing’s most prestigious prizes – but victory in the Curragh showpiece has so far eluded her.

That could change this weekend as Green Impact goes for glory fresh from victory in the Listed Glencairn Stakes at Leopardstown at the start of the month.

Competition is fierce, with each of the Epsom Derby top three – Lambourn, Lazy Griff and Tennesee Stud – all among the 10 runners but Harrington is quietly confident.

 

 

 

 

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“To win an Irish Derby would be absolutely fantastic,” she said. “It would be very much so at the top of the list. We would love to do it.

“They are very important races, they are races recognised worldwide, like winning a Gold Cup or Champion Chase in the National Hunt sphere.

“It’s a big task and everyone looks and says ‘there’s only 10 runners’. But the majority of those are proper quality runners.

“But he won over a mile as a two-year-old and usually if they do that, they stay. He’s out of a Galileo mare and he is a very laidback character, very relaxed and very easy to do anything with. I think he will stay.”

This is the three-year-old son of Wootton Bassett’s second run in an Irish Classic this season, with his 2,000 Guineas chances hampered by a lost shoe.

He missed out on a trip over the Channel in the aftermath but has now regained his spark.

“He got down to the dip, changed his legs and went to try and win the race,” Harrington said of the Guineas display.

“He lost a shoe, got a bit unbalanced and ended up finishing sixth. At the time, I was disappointed but coming out of that race, he was sore. 

“The intention was to go to the French Derby but we didn’t get there, so we gave him the run at Leopardstown and then all roads lead to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby after that.

“He's only had the two runs this year and he's just coming to himself now. We think he's come on loads since the Guineas and even since his win at Leopardstown.”

Aidan O’Brien is looking for a record-extending 17th victory in the race with Lambourn and though Harrington knows she has her work cut out to prevent the favourite becoming the 20th to do the Derby double, she is looking forward to the challenge.

"Lambourn is a big galloper, a class horse,” she said.

“He galloped the whole way to the line at Epsom. He's improving and the one to beat. I won't be giving Shane (Foley) any instructions. He'll do the right thing."