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| Staff Writer |
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Ambiente Friendly, Gr. 1 the Epsom Derby runner-up, is being targeted for the Gr.1 Irish Derby at the Curragh on June 30, as confirmed by owner Tim Gredley.
Trained by James Fanshawe, the colt finished second to City Of Troy in the Derby and is now preparing to compete in another classic later this month.
Meanwhile, the third-place finisher in the Epsom Derby, Los Angeles, is also expected to be in the mix at the Irish Derby. City Of Troy, on the other hand, is being aimed at the Coral-Eclipse (G1) at Sandown on July 6.
Ambiente Friendly will be supplemented for the Curragh Classic at a cost of €100,000 (US $127,000). However, the supplementary fee is covered as part of an incentive linked to his victory in the Lingfield Derby Trial in May.
Gredley said: "We're going to take Ambiente Friendly to the Irish Derby. We're not going to Ireland because City Of Troy is going elsewhere, we genuinely want to keep him to a mile and a half and it's a classic.
"All the conditions are in his favour and we think the Curragh will help him a bit like Epsom, whereas Sandown is a bit flatter and a hard race over a mile and a quarter at this point in his career is maybe not what he wants."
The son of Gleneagles had been under consideration for the Eclipse but connections are keen to stay at a mile and a half.
Gredley added: "It's important that we try to stay at a mile and half at the moment and we also get to stay against our own age group. We just think it ticks a lot more boxes positively for us to go to Ireland than it does to go to the Eclipse at this point in his career. We are just doing what is best by the horse.
"The Fanshawes spent all winter trying to settle the horse for a mile and a half, so it doesn't make any sense changing the plan when he clearly did stay at Epsom—he just got beaten."
On the Sandown option, he added: "I know we get a lot weight in the Eclipse, but we feel it's beneficial to stay against your own age group. Dad won the Irish Oaks a long time ago with User Friendly, so it would be nice for him to do the double.
"Rab Havlin will keep the ride and both he and James Fanshawe and Freddy Tylicki have been included in the discussions."