Could We See The 2026 Derby Winner As Early As Tomorrow?

Auguste Rodin, City Of Troy and now Lambourn, Aidan O’Brein has conquered the famous Betfred Derby over the last decade and a half, and he won’t be stopping just yet. His arsenal of talent stems longer than just a sheet of paper, but could we be seeing the 2026 Derby winner as early as tomorrow?

The final crop of group one contests are set to get under way across France and the UK, and Aidan O’Brien has made sure work of getting some of his future stars entered into the big contests, but especially at Doncaster.

As the William Hill Futurity Stakes marked the end of yet another great flat season for the Ballydoyle team, O’Brien and his crew had a couple more superstars up their sleeves, including impressive two year old Benvenuto Cellini. The two year old colt wearing the Peter Brant colours has had a stellar start to his racing career, finishing second to his stable companion Dorset on his debut, and going on to be unbeaten over a mile in Ireland.

Having already cracked £100,000 in prize money, winning a group two last time out, his staying ability looks a sure thing, and something to be excited for for the Ballydoyle team. Lining up in the Futurity a the current 11/10 speaks massive volumes about how impressive he has been so far, and his five length win at Leopardstown put that immense turn of foot on show.

In a pretty weak Futurity, it will be hard to see whether he can bat with the big boys, but what it will tell us, and somewhat confirm to us is his staying ability over a further trip, and will give us a great indication to whether he can stay a mile and a half. Just like he has in his last two races, he is set to take on two of his stable companions, the impressive Hawk Mountain, who has won his last two out in group company, and Action, a horse who has already taken on some of the best milers in the game, and will really test Benvenuto Cellini and Christophe Soumillion.

As far as finding a derby winner now, it is virtually impossible given how many horses could rise up, however what this Futurity will show us is how good Benvenuto Cellini can be, and whether he is good enough to earn himself a derby run next season.