On three occasions, Michael Kinane has endured the frustration of finishing runner-up in the Budweiser Irish Derby but in the brilliant unbeaten Epsom hero Galileo he looks to have the ideal horse to fill that big-race gap.
Tomorrow will be 42-year-old Kinane's 18th ride in his home Derby but unlike major international races like the Melbourne Cup, the Arc de Triomphe and the Belmont Stakes, completing the clean sweep of home classics has proved elusive.
In 1985 Theatrical looked home and hosed until caught in the last strides by Law Society and it was just a short head that stopped Definite Article winning in 1995.
However, the former champion jockey conceded yesterday: "Galileo is definitely my best ever ride going into an Irish Derby and history tells us that Epsom form generally holds up."
After a week of dithering over the possibility of the ground being too fast, trainers are now concerned about the going turning the other way. A total of 5mm of rain yesterday morning was enough to stop Grandera and Tobougg from being declared to run.
There are still 11 colts set to take on Galileo but the Aidan O'Brien-trained star is a red hot 4 to 11 favourite with Paddy Power to become the 14th horse since the War to complete the English-Irish Derby double.
The track manager Jason Morris reported a forecast for a little more rain over the weekend but nothing too significant although he added: "It will certainly be on the slow side in the straight."
That is good news for the second favourite Golan, runner-up to Galileo at Epsom and one of three British-trained runners in tomorrow's race, but if the going doesn't deteriorate further, Aidan O'Brien is unlikely to be too concerned as he bids for a remarkable sixth classic victory of the season.
"Obviously I would have to be a little concerned if the ground got bad because Galileo has such a good action and is certainly better on very fast going as he showed at Epsom. But this is a very serious horse. He learned a lot at Epsom, he grew up there and it was the first time he has really had to race," said O'Brien yesterday.
The Ballydoyle trainer is almost halfway to a clean sweep of the Irish classics this year following Imagine's 1,000 Guineas success and that of Black Minnaloushe in the 2,000. The latter was yesterday supplemented at a cost of £20,000 for next Saturday's Eclipse Stakes but no one seems to doubt Galileo is the star of the show.
The bookmakers agree with the local trainer and Powers yesterday opened a book betting without Galileo. The 8 to 11 favourite in that is Golan but there is also a book on how far the O'Brien-Kinane horse will win by.
Sir Ivor's shock defeat in 1968 and Relko's withdrawal at the 1964 start indicate such presumption can sometimes be punished but realistically Galileo is very unlikely to suffer such a fate.
