King Of Rome will bid to give Aidan O’Brien his second Derby triumph in the space of a week when he flies the flag for Ballydoyle in the German Derby.

O’Brien won his sixth Irish Derby last weekend when Frozen Fire took the honours at the Curragh and he has now set his sights on winning his first Group One success in Germany.

Johnny Murtagh elected to partner King Of Rome in the Epsom Derby but that decision proved to be the wrong one as the son of Montjeu finished 12th of the 16 runners.

The pair were reunited at Royal Ascot when he finished third to Collection in the Hampton Court Stakes and O’Brien is confident he can improve once more.

Confirming his intention to run his charge in Hamburg, O’Brien said: “He’s quite a classy horse who ran well to finish third at Royal Ascot over a mile and a quarter. We’re hoping the step back up to a mile and a half won’t be a problem.”

O’Brien is unsure what ground conditions awaits his three-year-old at the German venue, but he is happy to let him take his chance regardless.

“Things can change quite quickly over there so we won’t start thinking about the ground until closer to the time,” he told The Irish Times.

The Ballydoyle handler is also chasing Group One glory in Britain on Saturday with Mount Nelson his main hope in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown.

A close fifth in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Mount Nelson heads the market for the feature and O’Brien is hoping to get the ground to suit the Rock Of Gibraltar colt.

“His last two runs have been on very fast ground and he ran very well at Ascot on it. But he won as a two-year-old on soft ground so we’ll have to see,” he added.
(Source: Setanta Sports)