It could be argued that The Curragh staged the “real” Derby on Sunday, with the Blue Riband “non-runner” Benvenuto Cellini (Frankel) showing what he could have done had Epsom not turned into a quagmire.Staged on safe, fast summer ground, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby went the way of Aidan O'Brien as had 17 previous renewals since he took over at Ballydoyle, with another one-two-three for good measure.“He's got a lot of quality and Epsom was a mess,” Ryan Moore said. “It was an unusual set of circumstances and he had no hope there, but he's a beautiful mover and travelled into the race beautifully today. I produced him sooner than I would have liked, but when there is wind like there is today The Curragh gets complicated and you can't win from too far back.”“The Derby winner didn't lay down–he's a real tryer and Pierre ran well too and has come back,” he added. “We always felt that all three of them could have won and on a different day under different circumstances any of them could.”Last to load to avoid the Epsom stalls fiasco, the 7-4 favourite was switched to the fence soon after the start by Ryan Moore and all the negativity of his widest draw was instantly negated. Action (Frankel) was sacrificed on the front end to supply the appropriate hot fractions, with Christmas Day (Camelot) and Pierre Bonnard (Camelot) travelling strongly and the outsider Shaihaan (Night Of Thunder) the only complication for the chestnut up ahead.Delivered four-wide wide entering the straight, the Champions Juvenile and Chester Vase winner was able to pick up the Derby winner with relative comfort approaching the furlong pole and may have been idling in the clear as he led home a stable one-two-three. Christmas Day kept finding to be 1 3/4 lengths away, with Pierre Bonnard at last able to show his true colours in 2026 a neck away in third. The winning time was 2:28.33, making it the fifth fastest Irish Derby this century. REDEMPTION DAY It all went wrong at Epsom but it's all gone right today as Benvenuto Cellini wins the @DubaiDutyFree Irish Derby under Ryan Moore.It's a 1-2-3 for Aidan O'Brien @curraghrace | @WorldPool pic.twitter.com/94VzeO6eI7— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 28, 2026 The post Benvenuto Cellini Leads O’Brien 1-2-3 For Irish Derby Number 18 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.