Benvenuto Cellini emerges as Derby favorite after Chester Vase win

Aidan O’Brien left Chester with the Derby picture tilted even more sharply toward Ballydoyle, and Benvenuto Cellini emerged as the colt to beat after his commanding Chester Vase win. Under Ryan Moore, he pulled clear by four and a quarter lengths, a performance that pushed him to the head of the market and confirmed him as O’Brien’s most convincing Epsom runner after the latest round of trials.

The timing matters because the 2026 Betfred Derby is set for Saturday, 6 June at Epsom Downs and carries a total prize fund of £2,000,000. After the latest scratching stage, 41 horses remain in the race, and 16 of them are trained by O’Brien, a striking share that shows how much of the Classic still runs through Ballydoyle and Coolmore. Chester has long been part of that playbook, and Benvenuto Cellini was already being shaped for this route, following the same kind of stepping-stone path that carried Lambourn into last year’s Derby.

For bettors and Classic watchers, the pecking order is becoming clearer even if the final field is not. Benvenuto Cellini now looks the most straightforward Ballydoyle Derby contender, with Racing Post putting him no bigger than 3-1 after the Vase and the latest trial only strengthening that position. He also fits the Epsom brief in a way O’Brien values highly: the Derby is not simply a test of raw speed, but of balance, temperament, and the ability to cope with the course’s turns, cambers and pace shape.

Constitution River still sits in the frame, but he may yet be diverted to the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly instead of going to Epsom. That possible reroute matters because Constitution River was already regarded as one of O’Brien’s smarter young horses after his Futurity Stakes win at The Curragh, and his Chester run was meant to answer a simple question: could juvenile class translate into Derby stamina? Pierre Bonnard also remains in the discussion after finishing narrowly beaten in a Leopardstown trial, and O’Brien’s stance suggests that close defeat has not knocked him out of contention.

The Oaks side of the equation was sharpened too, with Amelia Earhart landing the Cheshire Oaks at Chester and moving into the leading Betfred Oaks conversation. Chester has now reinforced its status as O’Brien’s preferred springboard to Epsom, with last year’s Derby and Oaks winners also having been prepared through the meeting. For Ballydoyle, the trials did more than identify one favorite. They redrew the map, leaving Benvenuto Cellini in front, Constitution River possibly headed elsewhere, and the rest of the Classic picture still waiting on O’Brien’s final call.