Irish Derby 2026 Prediction: Who Wins? Tips, Preview & Outright Pick

🎰 2026 Irish Derby Prediction

The feature event of the Irish Derby Festival weekend, which begins on Friday, June 26th, is undoubtedly the Irish Derby. Established in 1886, the Irish Derby is a Group 1 race for three-year-old colts and fillies, run at the world-famous Curragh racecourse in Co. Kildare.

With regard to the 2026 race, which as usual will be one of the main events for fans of sports betting in Ireland our Irish Derby prediction is a win for Aidan O’Brien’s Benvenuto Cellini to make up for his Epsom Derby disappointment. Benvenuto Cellini was a strong favourite for the Epsom Derby on June 6th, but a mishap in the stalls led to the horse finishing tenth as stablemate Christmas Day won the race. That mishap in the stalls led to the horse being deemed a non-runner by authorities who decided that due to what happened in the stalls, the horse was denied a fair start, and he was therefore deemed a non-runner.

Before that, he had been viewed as the likely winner of the race due to the class he had shown at Chester but also in the way he had won the 2025 Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown. There, like at Chester, the horse took up the lead with a furlong or two left and powered clear to comfortably take victory. The drying ground at the Curragh should improve his chances even further, and with his price currently at around 2.38, we don’t see many weaknesses as Benvenuto Cellini looks to give Aidan O’Brien his 18th winner of the Irish Derby on June 28th.

✨ 2026 Irish Derby Betting Preview

Our pick for the big race may be Benvenuto Cellini, but there are plenty of challengers to the favourite lurking throughout the Irish Derby runners. Below we will take you through three potential winners of the race, other than our Irish Derby day tip, and their current odds with some of the top Irish bookmakers available for punters.

Remember, before having a bet on the 2026 Irish Derby, why not check out our comprehensive bookmaker reviews page? Here, lots of extra information about many of the top sportsbooks around can be found.

1️⃣ Christmas Day/ Aidan O’Brien

The Epsom Derby winner is another O’Brien runner who has featured on many Irish Derby prediction tips. Aidan O’Brien’s charge also won the Ballysax back in April, a race in which he had the reopposing A Boy Named Susie, James J Braddock and Pierre Bonnard all behind him. He revelled in the test of stamina at Epsom but will have his energy reserves fully tested at the Curragh.

price of 4.50 with Livescorebet

price of 4.50 with Paripesa

2️⃣ James J Braddock/ Joseph O’Brien

If James J Braddock could give Joseph O’Brien a second Irish Derby, it would cap an eventful June for the multi-purpose trainer. He ran his father Aidan close for top trainer at Royal Ascot with five winners and three seconds and may have a useful weapon to fire at the Curragh on June 28th in the form of his Epsom Derby third, James J Braddock. The horse won the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial at Leopardstown at the beginning of May before his Epsom run, and the trainer feels he will not be inconvenienced by the prospect of running at the Curragh. He won a maiden over a mile at the track back in November 2025, and if he can cut out wasting energy in the preliminaries like he did at Epsom, he should be there or thereabouts.

price of 7.00 with Livescorebet

price of 8.00 with Paripesa

3️⃣ A Boy Named Susie/Donnacha O’Brien

With question marks around some of the other Irish Derby favourites, perhaps it might be wise to take a look at Donnacha O’Brien’s A Boy Named Susie when you are trying to find the winner of this year’s race. There is potential for improvement over the distance for the horse who finished 4th behind Constitution River in the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly at the end of May. He met trouble in running in that race, but ran on admirably to finish 4th. That form and the ideal conditions he will meet at the Curragh bode well for his first crack at the 1m 4f distance, and if the others are off form, he could be good each-way value at the prices.

price of 11.00 with Livescorebet

price of 8.00 with Paripesa

🥇 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Past Winners

Below we have listed the last five winners of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby along with the winning jockey, the winning trainer and the SP.