2026 Epsom Derby: Five things to know

The main storylines going into Saturday’s Derby (G1) at Epsom in some respects echo those surrounding the Oaks (G1).

Aidan O’Brien has the favorite as he bids for a record-extending 12th win in the “Blue Riband,” but son Joseph has an up-and-comer. Juddmonte again fields the top British hopeful, while a Derby-winning horseman sends out a streetfighter who won’t be outgamed.

Let’s analyze the Derby from the five bullet-point perspective.

Flashy Benvenuto Cellini has supplanted Pierre Bonnard as the favorite. 

Aidan O’Brien hailed erstwhile Derby favorite Pierre Bonnard as a colt made for Epsom, but his prep losses have seen him lose market favor. Such is the depth of the Ballydoyle brigade that antepost bettors turned to stablemate Benvenuto Cellini, who has always been in the top bracket himself. 

Benvenuto Cellini displayed beautiful action in his Chester Vase (G3) romp, a way of going that reminds O’Brien of Galileo, his 2001 Derby star. Galileo is the colt’s paternal grandsire. Benvenuto Cellini is by Galileo’s greatest son, Frankel, and out of 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) romper Newspaperofrecord. 

Proven at the Derby trip, Benvenuto Cellini has the inexpressible flair of a high-class colt. He can also handle some degree of softish going. But he’d rather not try to plow through deep ground. Benvenuto Cellini endured his worst result, a third in last fall’s Futurity Trophy (G1), when bogged down on a heavy course. 

Pierre Bonnard can strike back in a soft-ground slog. 

Pierre Bonnard is bred through and through for the Derby. By O’Brien’s 2012 hero, Camelot, he is out of Group 1 queen Sultanina, a daughter of 2008 Derby champion New Approach. It’s no wonder that Pierre Bonnard’s marquee wins as a juvenile came at 1 1/4 miles, in the Zetland (G3) and the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (G1) on very soft going, and that he’s already crying out for longer trips. 

Indeed, my main concern about Pierre Bonnard is that he’s looking dour, as if he’s becoming more of a St Leger (G1) candidate. He can be forgiven his comeback run this season, since he badly needed the race. Next time over the same Leopardstown course and 1 1/4-mile trip, he improved markedly in the Derby Trial (G3), where he was just floored late by the Joseph O’Brien-trained James J Braddock.

The step up to 1 1/2 miles, with the prospect of a much stronger pace courtesy of stablemates Action and Christmas Day, could conjure up the performance that O’Brien has long expected. But the weather arguably holds the key to Pierre Bonnard’s chances, and he would be happy to see more rain. A slog on soft ground suits him to a tee, not only catering to his stamina, but also blunting Benvenuto Cellini’s acceleration. 

Item beat a solid Ballydoyle yardstick in the Dante.

Juddmonte’s homebred Item sports a perfect record for Andrew Balding, whose father, Ian, trained the great Mill Reef to Derby glory 55 years ago. Andrew has placed second in the Derby twice, with longshots Khalifa Sat (2020) and Hoo Ya Mal (2022). In the interests of full disclosure, Balding has another huge outsider this year, A Taste of Glory, for their same owner, Ahmad Al Shaikh, but Item has far more to recommend him. 

The son of Frankel and Grade 1 vixen Capla Temptress was supposed to have his first acid test in the Futurity Trophy, but heavy going scuttled it. Item instead found that trial by fire in his sophomore bow in the Dante (G2), where he passed with flying colors. The only closer to reel in the front-running Action, Item did well to subdue his more experienced opponent. 

Action has been a stakes bridesmaid so far, but his placings give the Dante form a solid look. A Frankel half-brother to last year’s Derby winner, Lambourn, Action was third in the Royal Lodge (G2) to unbeaten Bow Echo, the eventual 2000 Guineas (G1) hero, and later runner-up in the Futurity Trophy. Action adds cheekpieces that figure to sharpen his concentration and reinforce his intent to go forward early. 

Item is bound to come on quite a bit for his Dante tightener. The step up in trip would pose a question on very soft ground, but Balding rightly pointed out that it won’t be equivalent to heavy autumn going. 

Maltese Cross and Bay of Brilliance pulled clear in their Lingfield tussle.

Although the Lingfield Derby Trial produced a slower final time than the filly Cameo did in the corresponding Oaks Trial, I wouldn’t downgrade it. Their times were a function of the respective pace scenarios, and the top two in the Derby Trial drew 6 1/2 lengths clear of the rest as they both sprinted home in their duel to the wire.

The William Haggas-trained Maltese Cross had to deliver his final four furlongs in splits of :11.40, :11.23, :11.32, and :12.04 to nip Ralph Beckett’s Bay of Brilliance. Maltese Cross had the advantage of a tune-up at Newbury, while Bay of Brilliance was making his reappearance, suggesting that he could have a bit more to offer in their rematch.

Yet Maltese Cross has the admirable quality of just finding a way to win. He’s now captured three straight, all by narrow margins. That gives him more experience than Haggas’s 1996 Derby winner, Shaamit. By the great 2009 Derby champion, Sea the Stars, and out of a Camelot mare, Maltese Cross is another with Epsom pulsating in his very veins. 

Pricey yearling Ancient Egypt restored his reputation at Newmarket.

By Frankel and out of a full sister to Juddmonte’s transatlantic celebrity Midday, Ancient Egypt sparked great interest as a Tattersalls October yearling. Kia Joorabchian’s AMO Racing went to 1.1 million guineas (about $1.479 million) to secure the colt, and he looked worth it when capturing his first two starts as a juvenile.

But after a flop in last September’s Royal Lodge, where Ancient Egypt was a subpar seventh behind Bow Echo, he had plenty to prove in his reappearance. The Charlie Johnston trainee made amends by scoring a 16-1 upset in the May 1 Newmarket S., racing prominently and staying on strongly like a colt ready to raise his sights again.

Another AMO Racing investment at Tattersalls, the 4.3 million-guineas (about $5.7 million) buy Poker, has yet to furnish a suitable return. Karl Burke’s thrice-raced maiden nevertheless will play the hand he’s dealt here.