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| Staff Writer |
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Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles, who finished second and third in the Derby at Epsom, are set to face each other again in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby this Sunday.
Ambiente Friendly, trained by James Fanshawe, triumphed over Los Angeles by three and a quarter lengths at Epsom, but both were outclassed by City Of Troy.
The Gredley family, owners of Ambiente Friendly, have decided to supplement their colt for the Irish Classic. Fanshawe's most recent Group One victory was with Audarya at the Breeders’ Cup in 2020.
“Ambiente Friendly appears to have come out of Epsom in really good form,” said Fanshawe. “He worked last Wednesday and seems nice and bright in himself ahead of the weekend and I’m very happy with the colt.
“He really came into his own in the Derby Trial at Lingfield back in May, which he won really well, and then showed further progress in the Derby at Epsom and appears in good shape since.
“I just had a look at the weather forecast for the week and there doesn’t appear to be a lot of rain around.
“The ground was just on the slow side of good at Epsom and I don’t envisage any issues with the ground at the Curragh as he is a lovely moving horse and we are all very much looking forward to it.”
It's expected that Ballydoyle could field a strong team with Los Angeles, Agenda, Chief Little Rock, Euphoric, Grosvenor Square, and The Euphrates all in contention.
Matsuri, trained by Roger Varian, is set to move up in class after securing a victory in a Leicester novice race last time out.
David Menuisier is considering sending Sunway, while the Ger Lyons-trained Keeper’s Heart is also a possibility for the upcoming race.