Aidan O’Brien nominated the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as Anglo-Irish Derby hero Lambourn’s autumn target.
Lambourn became the 20th colt to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double when justifying odds-on favouritism to beat stablemate Serious Contender by less than a length.
The three-year-old followed in the hoof-prints of his sire Australia and grandsire Galileo by achieving the historic feat, marking a record-extending 17th triumph in the race for O’Brien.
The workmanlike nature of his victory over the Ballydoyle third string suggested the crop of Classic hopefuls is far from vintage but that seemingly won’t stop O’Brien from testing Lambourn in open company this season.
The trainer said: “He could be a King George horse, he could be an Arc horse. He gets the trip well and is very sound and very genuine.”
It’s more likely O’Brien believes Lambourn is a King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes horse for next year – as it’s hard to see him reappearing at Ascot in late July following two tough outings – but an Arc assignment in Europe’s richest race at Longchamp in October certainly looks on the cards.
Jockey Ryan Moore became the first rider in history to win the Irish Derby three years in a row following successes on Auguste Rodin in 2023 and Los Angeles in 2024.
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After Lambourn’s Epsom win, O’Brien was quick to mention the Doncaster St Leger as an aim but on Sunday the Tipperary-based handler sounded in no rush to step him up in trip and he could stay at 1m 4f for the foreseeable future.
“He’s just a very relaxed horse,” Moore said. “He was having a bit of a laugh with me. He was only doing a minimum of what he could get away with. He hasn’t done a huge amount there.
“I just have to keep him awake. He was just a bit lazy, but he has loads of ability and was always in control.”
It’s probably fair to say Lambourn strung a bit of a surprise when putting his 17 rivals to sleep with an emphatic front-running display at Epsom earlier this month, especially considering Moore had opted to ride the well-beaten Delacroix in the race.
Lambourn finished second to Delacroix in a trial at Leopardstown in March – over two furlongs short of the Derby’s mile and a half trip where he entered as Ballydoyle’s third choice runner in the hands of Ronan Whelan.
He proved that victory was no fluke by backing it up at the Curragh but doubts will remain over how strong those fields are, so we’ll see what he’s made of when taking on his elders.
