Epsom. It’s one of the horse racing world’s major events, offering the chance for young horses to really prove their speed and skill. Even more excitingly, it’s now just a week away – which begs the question of which horses the Irish bookies are favouring for the Derby. Well, we’ll be exploring the different odds for the Epsom Derby in today’s guide to help you understand which horses are likely to be leading the charge.
Who Do the Irish Bookies Favour for Epsom?
The odds for the Epsom Derby have been changing quite a bit of late, with the bookies struggling to pinpoint exactly which horse is their favourite for a while. However, odds have finally begun to settle, and the current favourite is a clear choice at last: Delacroix, an April 2022 born bay colt, trained by A P O’Brien.
And it’s no doubt easy to see why the bookies have all congregated on Delacroix as the favourite to win the Epsom Derby 2025. Indeed, although he’s only got seven runs to his name, this impressive young horse has never disappointed, winning four of his races and placing second in three. That includes two very impressive recent wins at Leopardstown in March and May, where he came first out of seven and five, respectively.
Does Delacroix Have Any Competition?
While Delacroix has an exceptional record so far, it’s important to note that the competition he’ll be up against in the Epsom Derby is far higher stakes than anything he’ll have faced before. This is evidenced by his odds, which are currently sitting at 2/1 (3.0) with BoyleSports, Bet365, and UniBet. Now, those are still very good odds – however, compared to his Leopardstown SP of ⅓, it clearly shows that Delacroix may not have as easy a time of it here.
Given this, there’s *plenty* of other competition in the running for the Epsom Derby, with Ruling Court and Pride of Arras currently being touted as the bookies’ favourite runners up at odds of around 4/1 each. Both of these horses have more experience in large groups than Delacroix, so this could give them an edge up.
Pride of Arras, in particular, could present a key challenger for Delacroix, and while he’s only had two previous races (once in August and once in May), he’s excelled both times. His recent race in May, in fact, saw him first out of eleven, putting him in an excellent position for the Derby.
Meanwhile, Ruling Court also has the potential to do well in a large race of this nature. This impressive horse has more experience on the racetrack than Pride of Arras, but also has an equally impressive tenure over larger pack races. Given this, both are undoubtedly prime contenders to knock Delacroix out of the top spot – but inevitably, only time will tell when we get to the big race.
Final Thoughts
Delacroix is the clear favourite for the Epsom Derby next Saturday; however, there are many other horses entered in the race as well, so it’s impossible to say for certain whether or not he’ll be able to pull it off. Still, given his incredible recent form, it’s not surprising that the bookies have placed so much faith in this young horse, and it will be no-doubt exciting to see if he’ll live up to the expectations or not.