The road to Epsom starts here at Leopardstown.

In the recent past the Ballysax has not revealed the winner of the Derby or pointed us towards an outstanding three year old. but look back a little further in time, Fame And Glory, Yeats, High Chaparral, Galileo, go all the back to 1991 and you’ll find the Oaks winner, Jim Bolger’s Jet Ski Lady.

Ballydoyle’s dominance of this through the noughties has been broken with the last three renewals having fallen to Jim Bolger. Fastest out of the traps this year Jim is represented by Alpinist twice a visitor to the racecourse. Fourth here on his debut last August he was reintroduced on the first day of the season   finding the winners enclosure having found the heavy ground to his liking that day at the Curragh. He is accompanied from the Coolcullen base by Beyond Thankful, a more experienced inmate whose struck once from six visits to the track. His best form came when second to the Killavullan Stakes at the backend of last season.

Conditions will be on the quicker side here with the ground verging on good. It will be a help to the Aidan O’Brien pair of Battle Of Marengo and Foundry. The latter is once raced taking his maiden in visually impressive style here on the last day of the season and a middle distance campaign will open up for him from here. Seamus Heffernan takes the mount.

The more experienced of the Ballydoyle pair Battle Of Marengo who’ll be reunited with Joseph O’Brein is as short as 10/1 for Epsom in some lists. A progressive two year old campaign cumulated in winning the G2 Beresford Stakes on heavy . He’d previously overcome the saddle slipping on good ground at Leopardstown to win at Listed level beating Trading Leather. He is asked to carry a five pound penalty for the Beresford success providing us a question mark for this contest.

Imperial Concorde runs in the Dr Ronan Lamb colours for the Rosewell stable. He justified favouritism first time out in a Gowran maiden but the step up to Listed class proved too much and he finished well down the field behind Sugar Boy who represents Patrick Prendergast here. He’s a likeable type who improved  as the season went on last year. Fourth, third, second, and then three wins reads well and once he found the winning stride he coped admirably. All his runs were on ground with give in it and this will be his first encounter on something on the decent side.

We’ll see a decent colt today, possibly a Derby winner. One to watch rather than play with Battle Of Marengo trading at 4/7. Expect the five pound concession to be overcome.

Recommendation : Battle Of Marengo 4/7 (if you must)