2021 Irish Derby Tips, Odds and Predictions

Three weeks after the British version of this Classic takes place at Epsom, the Irish Derby will be played out at the Curragh.

First staged in the 1800s, the Irish Derby has been won by many of Ireland and Britain's finest horses, with names like Nijinsky, Shergar and Galileo standing out on the illustrious roll of honour.

The Irish Derby is open only to three-year-olds and is run over a trip of 1m4f. Both colts and fillies are allowed to enter this Classic.

Once the field has been confirmed and the betting has opened, we'll publish our guide to the 2021 Irish Derby.

The very first Irish Derby took place at the Curragh in 1817. After just seven years, the race was discontinued, only to be reintroduced again in 1948. 

After a couple more failed attempts, the modern Irish Derby was created in 1866, and it's taken place every year at the Curragh ever since.

Given the Irish Derby usually takes place three weeks after the Epsom Derby, horses often run in both races. The first colt to win both the Epsom and Irish Derby was Orby, who achieved that feat for Fred McCabe in 1907.

Legendary jockey, Morny Wing still holds the record for the most Irish Derby wins, with the last of his six victories coming aboard Bright News in 1946.

An injection of prize money in the 1960s saw the Irish Derby become one of the most sought-after prizes in all of flat racing. Santa Claus became the second horse to win the British and Irish Derby in 1964.

Vincent O'Brien saddled seven winners of the Irish Derby between 1953 and 1985. The great Lestor Piggott travelled over to Ireland to ride The Minstrel to victory for O'Brien in 1977. 

The most famous of O'Brien's winners was Nijinsky, who won at the Curragh, while also winning the Triple Crown in England during his stunning 1970 season.

In 1981, Piggott celebrated the last of his five Irish Derby wins aboard Shergar, who won at the Curragh during his Triple Crown-winning campaign in 1981. 

Although fillies usually head for the Irish Oaks over the Irish Derby, there have been a few fillies who've been strong enough to beat the colts in the Derby. The last filly to achieve this feat was John Dunlop's Salsabil, who triumphed in the Irish Derby after victories in the 1000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks in 1990.

12 years after his father's final victory in this Classic, Aidan O'Brien trained his first Irish Derby winner when Desert King triumphed in 1997. Since then, Aidan O'Brien has won the Irish Derby eleven more times, making him the most successful trainer in the history of this Classic.

O'Brien has won the Irish Derby with superstars like Galileo, High Chaparral, Dylan Thomas, Camelot and Australia. 

While O'Brien has been dominant, trainers like John Oxx, Jim Bolger and Dermot Weld have saddled winners of the Irish Derby. Aidan's son, Joseph O'Brien celebrated his first Classic victory as a trainer when Latrobe won the 2018 Irish Derby.

British trainers like Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute and John Gosden have all won the Irish Derby. Andre Fabre became the fifth French trainer to saddle the Irish Derby winner when Winged Love won back in 1995.

Aidan O'Brien remains the trainer to beat in the Irish Derby. The master of Ballydoyle has won three of the last four runnings of this Classic. O'Brien even saddled a 1-2 in the 2020 Irish Derby, as Santiago held off stablemate Tiger Moth to win.