The two-year-old maiden race held at Killarney last night has drawn immense attention. Over the past eight years, this race has produced a remarkable total of three Irish Derby champions: Anthony Van Dyck in 2019, Lambourn in 2024, and last year’s winner Benvenuto Cellini. It is widely regarded as one of the strongest maiden races.
This year’s renewal of the maiden contest was won by the Paddy Twomey-trained City Of Dubai, who defeated Aidan O’Brien’s heavily favored $1.3 hot favorite, Oklahoma. It remains to be seen whether this expensive purchase, valued at €260,000, can match the achievements of those three stellar predecessors. Among them, Benvenuto Cellini went on to win the G2 Champions Juvenile Stakes and the G3 Chester Vase, finished third in the G1 Futurity Trophy, and recorded his finest hour with an easy victory in the G1 Irish Derby.