Aidan O’Brien will stick to a tried and tested method and let his riders plot their way around Epsom in the Betfred Derby on Saturday.

The Ballydoyle trainer’s trio of runners is headed by Auguste Rodin, who will start his race in stall 10, with San Antonio in stall 12 and Adelaide River in stall 14.

Auguste Rodin’s draw has produced plenty of Derby winners – but O’Brien does not put a great deal of emphasis on the berths assigned to his runners in the premier Classic, a position he can take from experience having enjoyed eight triumphs as the most successful trainer in Derby history.

“The lads will make up their minds what they want to do out of each of the stalls and the draws are what they are. That is the way we always look at the draws,” he said.

“We don’t ever think too much about the draws to tell you the truth because it is all about where the pace is going to be and how it is going to work out and if your horse comes out well or if it doesn’t come out. It is all split-second stuff. You could end up thinking you have a bad draw but end up with a very good position.

“We are like everybody else as we don’t know what will happen as it is their first time on the track and that ground and over that trip. Epsom is the ultimate test of a three year old, both mentally and physically.

“Epsom is straight up the hill at the start and it gives every horse the chance to get in a position really.

“They seem to be in good form and we think they all have chances and everything has gone well since their last runs. We are happy with how all three are going into the race.”

Auguste Rodin has long been at the head of the market, a position that has not changed even with his defeat in the 2000 Guineas.

O’Brien added: “I don’t really (feel any extra pressure with Auguste Rodin). We are like everybody else as we don’t know what will happen as it is their first time on the track and that ground and over that trip. Epsom is the ultimate test of a three-year-old, both mentally and physically.”

Amo Racing will launch a two-pronged assault on the Nyetimber Surrey Stakes at Epsom on Friday, with both Olivia Maralda and Magical Sunset donning the purple silks of Kia Joorabchian’s racing operation.

Both fillies are returning to seven furlongs having raced either side of that distance most recently and it is Olivia Maralda who appears to have the best chance of scooping black type in this Listed event.

The daughter of Kodiac rarely disappointed when trained by Michael O’Callaghan last term, with some of her highlights including a successful raid on Newbury and chasing home Aidan O’Brien’s Meditate in the Group Two Debutante Stakes.

Switched to Roger Varian in the close season, she was upped to a mile for her return in the 1000 Guineas, acquitting herself well before fading in the testing conditions at Newmarket inside the final furlong.

Now the filly returns to the distance some of her best outings have come at in search of a first victory in Pattern company.

“I thought Olivia Maralda ran a fantastic race in the 1000 Guineas,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing.

“She looked nailed on for fourth until the final furlong and then in that ground it just sapped it out of her.

“Dropping back to seven furlongs will suit and she goes there in good form.”

Meanwhile, Richard Hannon’s Magical Sunset was a Listed winner at Newbury in heavy ground as a juvenile and was sent off favourite at the Berkshire venue for the Fred Darling on her seasonal bow.

Dropped back to six furlongs at Ascot following a fifth in that 1000 Guineas trial, she was seen doing her best work late which has prompted a swift return to further.

“We came away from Newbury and the Fred Darling a little disappointed and then we dropped her back in trip to six furlongs for the Commonwealth Cup trial,” continued Pennington. “All she did at Ascot was stay on and run like she was screaming out for further.

“Royal Ascot will be her target and we’ll look at something like the Sandringham. This is a stepping stone for that, but she’s a very nice filly.

“These are two very nice fillies and they go there with live chances but I think Andrew Balding’s Holguin is the one to beat, he has some good form in the book. However, they are both good fillies and should run nice races.”

The consistent Holguin heads the bookmakers lists on the back of two neck seconds so far this season.

The Kingsclere representative was just touched off by Ralph Beckett’s Angel Bleu in a Haydock Listed event most recently and is a worthy market leader.

Meanwhile, the Nick Bradley Racing-owned Secret Angel is another filly in the line-up bringing top form to the table.

The Karl Burke-trained daughter of Dark Angel was a Deauville Listed winner last term and has performed with credit in two outings so far this season, finishing third in the Nell Gwyn before fourth to Sacred when taking on her elders at Lingfield.

“There was a case to run her in a Group Two in France against three-year-old fillies, but I just thought this race was small on numbers and although I’m not sure we’ll beat Holguin, I think she will will run well,” said Nick Bradley, managing director of Nick Bradley Racing.

“I think the track will suit, the trip will suit and I’m going to watch all the previous Woodcote and Surrey Stakes, but stall one, I think I would have chosen stall one right now.

“She is in good form at home and last time out at Lingfield I kind of felt we were running against the all-weather specialists and a couple of really classy fillies who are effectively Group One horses in Sandrine and Sacred.

“It’s a drop down in class, I think she will run a big race and I will be disappointed if she wasn’t first or second.”

Frankie Dettori feels his final Betfred Oaks ride is one of only three fillies who hold a real chance in Friday’s Epsom Classic.

The Italian, who is retiring at the end of the year, will partner John and Thady Gosden’s Soul Sister as he bids for a seventh victory in the Group One contest.

The Frankel filly won a Doncaster maiden as a two-year-old and then started her three-year-old campaign in the seven-furlong Fred Darling Stakes at Newbury, coming home last of 12 on deep going that she could not operate in.

That run was quickly forgotten in the Musidora at York in May, however, when she announced herself as an Oaks contender with a decisive four-length triumph when stepped markedly up in trip.

The Classic on the opening day of the Derby meeting then became the plan for the Lady Bamford-owned bay, who will face 10 rivals.

Of the York, run Dettori said: “I was impressed because the filly quickened twice. She clocked a good time and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed.

“When she ran at Newbury on heavy ground, John’s horses needed a race at that moment in time.

“She’ll have to run an extra furlong and a half, but all the signs are good.

“She settled well and she finished the race strong, I believe that (the trip) will not be an issue, but until you try you don’t really know. I think she’ll be fine.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Savethelastdance is favourite and comes into the race off the back of an incredibly impressive 22-length rout in the Cheshire Oaks.

Naturally Dettori considers her to be the chief challenger to Soul Sister, with the Gosden-trained Running Lion also a threat after her convincing Pretty Polly win at Newmarket in early May.

“Savethelastdance, I didn’t ride in the trial at Chester but wow, she won by 22 lengths, it was very, very impressive,” he said.

“She brings very good form to the table – of course I’m going to be frightened by her, but we’ll give it a go with Soul Sister.

“Maybe I’m being a bit silly but to me there’s only three fillies that can win it – Roaring Lion, O’Brien’s and mine. They’ve (the rest) got a big gap to bridge.”

King Of Steel will attempt to break Amo Racing’s Classic duck when he lines up in the Betfred Derby at Epsom on Saturday.

Kia Joorabchian’s operation has yet to taste success in the sport’s truly flagship contests – but came close to Derby glory with their only other runner so far in the race, Mojo Star, who finished second to Adayar at 50-1 in 2021.

Now hopes are pinned on Roger Varian’s strapping colt defying similarly long odds when he tackles the undulations of the Surrey Downs.

Although an impressive winner on debut at Nottingham in the autumn before going on to run in Group One company at Doncaster, he has not been seen yet since joining his new trainer at Carlburg Stables having been withdrawn at the start after getting upset in the stalls when due to run in the Dante at York.

However, having passed a required stalls at Leicester earlier this week, he will now attempt to become the first horse to win the Derby on their first start at three since the William Haggas-trained Shaamit in 1996.

“We’ve always been a huge fan of the horse,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager at Amo Racing.

“It was unfortunate what happened at York, but he came through his stalls test at Leicester on Monday with flying colours and Roger has been pleased with his work throughout the spring and likes the horse.

“It’s a big ask to run in the Derby on your seasonal reappearance, it’s the biggest three-year-old race of the year, but we would like to think he will outrun his odds.

“We genuinely thought he was overpriced in the Dante and he had been working well before that. Both Kevin (Stott, jockey) and Roger had been happy with him and that race would have been an ideal springboard for the Derby. It just didn’t happen.

“I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason and maybe he would have had gone to York and had a really hard race and that might have affected his run this weekend. So you have got to try to take the positives out of it, he went up there and had a nice away day, he’s since been to Leicester and been through the stalls and you’ve got to take things as they come.

“Touch wood he will have a blind on in the stalls and he won’t repeat what he did at York.

“Whatever he does on Saturday will be a bonus for the remainder of the season. He’s a lovely big horse who is still filling his frame and maturing and I think he will improve as the season goes on.”

The Amo silks will also be represented in the Betfred Oaks on Friday afternoon when the Richard Hannon-trained Maman Joon takes the ‘Mojo Star route’ to Epsom, lining up in a Classic as a lightly-raced maiden.

In fact Maman Joon has been sighted just the once, when second to Gather Ye Rosebuds at Newbury, but connections are happy to roll the dice with the daughter of Sea The Stars.

“She’s a lovely filly and Richard has always held her in high regard,” continued Pennington.

“It looks a massive task to go there as a once-raced maiden, but she goes there in good form and has been working well. We’re hoping she can outrun her odds.

“She’s a lovely filly but you’re up against some of the best three-year-olds of a generation and the way Aidan’s (O’Brien, Savethelastdance) won at Chester she looked very good and obviously John Gosden’s filly (Soul Sister) who won at York has to be respected – understandably the competition looks very strong.”

Alder will be redirected to either Royal Ascot or the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby after a unsatisfactory scope saw him ruled out of the Betfred Derby at the 11th hour.

The Dee Stakes runner-up was poised to represent trainer Donnacha O’Brien in the Epsom Classic on Saturday afternoon, but his name was missing from the declarations made on Thursday for the showpiece event.

With his handler unwilling to risk the son of Australia in such a deep contest when not at 100 per cent, connections will now point the colt towards either the King Edward VII Stakes at the Royal meeting later this month or again target Classic glory at the Curragh on July 2.

“Everything was going to plan, but his scope wasn’t 100 per cent perfect this morning after his last day riding out. It’s a real shame, but just one of those things,” said O’Brien.

“It’s not a race you can go into not being 100 per cent. We couldn’t run him once his scope was slightly off.

“I imagine his two options now will be the King Edward or the Irish Derby, he’s likely to go to one of them.”

Meanwhile, Alder’s stablemate Proud And Regal could be poised for a return to 10 furlongs following his seventh-place finish in the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the weekend.

“He’s come out of the run well,” continued O’Brien. “We haven’t made a plan with him yet, but he’s in good form after the race. I think it is likely we will go back to 10 furlongs for his next run.”

An animal rights protester has indicated she is prepared to break the law in order to “do what’s right” by the horses at Epsom this weekend.

The Jockey Club was last week granted a High Court injunction against Animal Rising demonstrators planning to disrupt the Betfred Derby on Saturday.

The application was lodged by the club, which owns Epsom Downs, because it felt the organisation made it “explicitly clear” it intends to breach security at the Surrey racecourse to stage a disruptive protest.

During a debate on Sky News on Thursday morning, Animal Rising spokeswoman Claudia Penna Rojas was asked if she is prepared to break the law.

She replied: “I’m prepared to do what’s necessary to do what’s right by these animals and try and prevent them from being harmed.”

Pressed on whether that means breaking the law, she said: “If it means breaking the law, we know that law isn’t always equal to morality and we know that people have had to break laws throughout history to create the change that we need.

“And, again, what this is about is protecting these animals. It’s about trying to create the change that we need to see where we don’t see animals as property, where we don’t see them as objects that are used for our entertainment and value them and care for them as the beings that they are.”

Nevin Truesdale, chief executive at the Jockey Club, replied: “That’s for the police and the courts to decide and the court says where we will end up because there is an injunction in place, they will be in contempt of court and therefore it is illegal.”

Truesdale said the sport “has never been safer” for horses, adding: “We love these equine athletes, these superstars who get fantastic care behind the scenes.

“99.8% of horses come back from their races perfectly safe and sound.

“We’ve spent… As an industry, we’ve spent #40 million on welfare over the last 20 years.”

Penna Rojas said protesters will not run in front of a live race.

“Their welfare, the welfare of the jockeys, the welfare of the people there is absolutely our priority,” she said.

Meanwhile, Frankie Dettori – riding in his last Derby before retirement – told BBC Breakfast he hopes things will be “smooth” this weekend and the event passes off without anyone being put in danger.

“Let’s hope that protesters don’t impede this kind of beautiful event,” he said.

Jockey Club officials fear the protest will endanger participants, racegoers and horses – although they said they do not dismiss the right to peaceful protest and have offered Animal Rising an area near the racecourse’s entrance to demonstrate.

The injunction granted by High Court judge Sir Anthony Mann bans people from going on to the racetrack and carrying out other acts with the intention and/or effect of disrupting the races.

Such acts include intentionally causing objects to enter the racetrack, entering the parade ring, entering and/or remaining on the horses’ route to the parade ring and to the racetrack without authorisation and intentionally endangering any person at Epsom Downs racecourse during the two-day Derby Festival.

Those breaching the court order may be subject to contempt of court proceedings and fined or jailed.

There was disruption at the Grand National at Aintree in April when the race was delayed by just over 10 minutes after demonstrators made their way on to the track and had to be removed by police.

Auguste Rodin, Military Order and Arrest form part of a 14-strong field declared for the Betfred Derby at Epsom on Saturday.

Much has been written about Auguste Rodin, and while he was well beaten in the 2000 Guineas, Aidan O’Brien – who also runs San Antonio and Adelaide River – retains maximum faith in the Deep Impact colt.

Military Order is bred to be a Derby winner being a full-brother to trainer Charlie Appleby’s 2021 winner Adayar and did little to dispel the impression that he will go close to maintaining family honour when taking the Lingfield Derby Trial.

Arrest will take all the headlines should he prevail, as he is the final Derby mount of Frankie Dettori.

Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the son of Frankel was a Group One runner-up as a juvenile and looked the part on his return in the Chester Vase.

His run in France behind the reopposing Dubai Mile was on heavy ground, while the heavens opened over the Roodee.

He will face very different conditions in the premier Classic, but connections are hopeful he will be at least as good, if not better, for it.

“He’s a very good horse and at Chester it was just about getting him some more experience on an undulating track,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“He’d been to Sandown, Ffos Las and Saint-Cloud, all pretty straightforward tracks, so Chester was about introducing him to a tight, undulating track which he handled well.

“He then went to Epsom for a gallop and he handled that as well, quickening clear of his work companion, so he’s in good form. He did his last piece at the weekend and went nicely.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the ground, but he won his maiden at Sandown on good to firm, hopefully he can give a good account.

“He’s a fine, big, well-balanced horse so I think he’s better on good ground. Looking at him, that’s what I think.

“France wasn’t ideal, if it was three-quarters through the season rather than last race of the year he probably wouldn’t have run on that ground as it was so bad, but we knew he had the winter off so took a chance.

“He hit the front a furlong out and the ground probably just caught him out and the horse of Charlie Johnston’s got back up and did him on the line.”

Sir Michael Stoute and the Derby need little introduction and 12 months on from the victory of Desert Crown, the Freemason Lodge handler has supplemented Passenger, winner of the Wood Ditton and unlucky in running when dead-heating for third in the Dante.

The winner on the Knavesmire was Andrew Balding’s The Foxes, while immediately behind Military Order at Lingfield was the Ed Walker-trained Waipiro.

Donnacha O’Brien’s Alder was not declared, but there is further Irish representation through John Murphy’s Dante runner-up White Birch and Jessica Harrington’s Sprewell.

Artistic Star is an unbeaten Galileo colt representing Ralph Beckett, who sent out Westover to be third last year, and Roger Varian runs the giant King Of Steel with Dubai Mile’s trainer Charlie Johnston having a second string to his bow in the shape of Dear My Friend.

Marco Botti’s Yorkshire Cup hero Giavellotto will seek further staying riches later this summer with the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup highlighted as his next target.

The four-year-old rose rapidly through the handicap ranks to earn a crack at the St Leger last season and acquitted himself with real credit in that staying Classic to pass the post in fourth, promoted to third following interference.

Although disappointing in the Dubai Gold Cup in his first outing of the year, he thrived when stepping onto the Knavesmire for the Yorkshire Cup, highlighting himself as a top-quality operator to reverse Doncaster form with Eldar Eldarov.

Despite that race often serving as a trial for the Gold Cup, Giavellotto does not hold an entry for the Royal Ascot feature and although supplementing did briefly come under discussion, connections have decided to stick with their original plan to swerve the summer showpiece.

The Mastercraftsman colt will now be primed for action on the Sussex Downs on August 1 where he will try to land his first Group One prize.

“He’s come out of the race at York well and we’re pleased with him, he seems in good form,” said Botti.

“We had a good catch up with the owners and they decided they don’t want to go for the Gold Cup at Ascot and we will stick to the original plan.

“Even before he won at York, I felt the extra few furlongs of the Gold Cup wasn’t going to help him run his best race and we always felt it wasn’t going to be the race we were aiming for.

“We’re going to skip it and aim at the Goodwood Cup on August 1.”

Giavellotto holds an entry in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger at the Curragh on September 10 and that could prove a further port of call with Botti plotting a potential path to the Melbourne Cup at Flemington in November.

He continued: “If he does well at Goodwood then we have entered him in the Irish St Leger on September 10 and then we if we go any further, we haven’t ruled out the Melbourne Cup.

“It is not a firm plan, but we will consider it and make a decision as we go along.

“He definitely stays the two miles. I felt the one-mile-six at York was always the race we wanted to go for as I felt the track and trip was tailor-made for him and I’m glad he showed what he was capable of.

“He was probably unlucky in the St Leger. He didn’t have a clear run and in Dubai it just didn’t happen for him, but he showed that in the right conditions, on the right track he is quite a nice stayer.”