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Irish Derby among ‘loads of options’ for A Boy Named Susie
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 2 Jun 2026
Donnacha O’Brien says A Boy Named Susie has “loads of options” after his luckless Prix du Jockey Club fourth but could step him up in trip to tackle the Irish Derby at the end of this month.
The three-year-old met all sorts of trouble in running up the Chantilly straight before finishing strongly, two and three-quarters lengths behind Constitution River as the trainer’s father Aidan filled the podium with the first three home.
And while O’Brien insisted the colt could bid for compensation in the Coral-Eclipse again over a mile and two furlongs at Sandown, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (June 28) or the Grand Prix de Paris (July 14) might prove a better fit.
A Boy Named Susie: had no luck in running at Chantilly on Sunday. (Photo: Healy Racing)
“We have loads of options, but I think the two more likely options are the Irish Derby or the Eclipse,” said O’Brien. “He could go back to France for a Grand Prix de Paris, although he is not in it and we would have to supplement.
“There is also the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot, but I would think the two most likely options are Irish Derby or Eclipse – that’s the way I’m leaning at the moment.”
O’Brien offered support to jockey Maxime Guyon despite a troubled passage at Chantilly, but admitted he had hoped A Boy Named Susie might have followed Ryan Moore through on the outside from their unfavourable wide draw.
As it happened, Guyon chose to drop in the Starspangledbanner colt behind the field early only to meet a wall of horses as he looked for a way through up the straight.
“We had hoped we would have been able to follow Ryan, but I think the pace was pretty hot early and Maxime just wanted to let him get comfortable and drop him in which I completely understand,” the trainer said.
“But it can be hard to make ground around Chantilly and we got a little bit of trouble in running. That is race riding. He made a call at the time, does he go in or does he go forward and maybe he wouldn’t have been able to go forward if he wanted to but he decided to tuck him in.
O’Brien added: “Maxime is a great rider so you have to trust him and that the decision was the right one at the time and he ran home very well so we were certainly pleased with the performance.”
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