The biggest weekend of the Irish Flat Racing calendar is almost upon us. Here’s all you need to know.
With a fantastic Ascot Festival just behind us we are very lucky to have the prospect of the Irish Derby to look forward to this weekend.
Running for three days from June 28 to 30, The Curragh have pulled out all the stops to make this year’s Festival the best ever with lots of activities and entertainment for everyone.
But we have to start with the racing and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby on Saturday. Won last year by the imperious Camelot, it was Aidan O’Brien’s seventh consecutive Irish Derby win and the Coolmore man’s 10th Derby in total.
Aidan and Joseph O’Brien after last year’s success with Camelot
So we shouldn’t be too surprised to see that heading the market for the 2013 renewal is O’Brien’s Ruler of the World, the winner of the Epsom Derby earlier this year. The race is also boosted by the presence of the Epsom runner-up Libertarian and the third home Galileo Rock. Add in Trading Leather and Sugar Boy and it is one heck of a race.
The Derby Music Village has a cracking line-up on Derby Day, with the likes of Delorentos, The Original Rude Boys, Sharon Shannon and the Raglans taking the stage.
If food is your thing then the Derby Food Paddock caters to all taste buds, while no race meeting would be complete without a Most Stylish Lady competition, and this year’s judging panel is headed by Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan.
If you are thinking of heading along we recommend you get your hands on a €30 Derby Day ticket which includes a free bus to and from Dublin city centre. For details of that and other tickets just check click here.
See you there.
