By Duane Fonseca -
Tim Gredley, the owner of Ambiente Friendly, has confirmed the Derby runner-up will be targeted at the Irish equivalent of the race at the Curragh on June 30.
Trained by James Fanshawe, the Gleneagles colt flew at a strong pace at Epsom but failed to reel in winner City Of Troy, who won with two-and-three-quarters of a length to spare. However, with Aidan O’Brien targeting his 10th Derby winner at the Coral Eclipse at Sandown in July, Ambiente Friendly is among the ante-post favourites for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby alongside City Of Troy’s stable companion Los Angeles, who placed third at Epsom.
Ambiente Friendly will have to be supplemented for the race at a cost of €100,000, with the fee covered as part of an incentive linked to his Lingfield Derby Trial success in May.
And confirming his star will run in the Curragh Classic, Gredley told the Racing Post: “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.”
Gredley revealed the 2400m distance of the Irish Derby would suit Ambiente Friendly better than the 2000m trip of the Coral Eclipse.
He added: “It’s important that we try to stay at a mile and a 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.”
“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. Rob Havlin will keep the ride and both he and James Fanshawe and Freddy Tylicki have been included in the discussions.”
