Dermot Weld steering Harzand towards Irish Derby

Dermot Weld is leaning towards the Irish Derby with Harzand in preference to the Investec Derby at Epsom.

An impressive winner of the Ballysax Stakes last month, the Sea The Stars colt has recently had his form franked.

Moonlight Magic, Idaho and Beacon Rock dominated the Derrinstown Derby Trial but they were all behind Harzand at Leopardstown.

Weld said: “He’s a nice horse but he does want ease in the ground. I possibly see him more of an Irish Derby horse.

“The form of his win looks good and he’s very well in himself.

“I’m not going to say he won’t run in the Derby but I see him as a horse for the second part of the year.

“He’s a big, galloping horse and Pat (Smullen) said after his last run that he might be the type for the English St Leger.”

Meanwhole Godolphin are set to have a third string to its Derby team with Linguistic ready to enter the fray.

Winner of a sales race at Newmarket on his reappearance, John Gosden’s inmate was a fast-finishing second to Viren’s Army in the Dee Stakes at Chester last week.

With Jim Bolger’s Moonlight Magic seemingly booking his place with victory in the Derrinstown Derby Trial and Andre Fabre’s Cloth Of Stars likely to be supplemented after an impressive victory in the Prix Greffulhe, Sheikh Mohammed now has a strong Derby squad from out of seemingly nowhere.

"John (Gosden) is quite keen (to supplement Linguistic)," John Ferguson, chief executive and racing manager of Godolphin, told www.godolphin.com.

“The colt ran a very nice race at Chester and he is a progressive type.

“There has been a lot to digest over the last few days, but His Highness Sheikh Mohammed loves having runners in the Derby at Epsom, and he is greatly encouraged by the reports he is getting about his latest group of three-year-olds.

“They will be monitored closely from this point, and we will also see now what happens at York.”