NAP of the Day: Bonnard to bounce back to his best

Racing fans have been treated to some excellent sport this week, with Chester’s May Festival, the Victoria Cup at Ascot on Saturday and some potentially informative trials at Lingfield. It doesn’t stop there, however, and Leopardstown’s Sunday card isn’t to be missed.

We have eight races to sink our teeth into and the best of the bunch is the Group 3 Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial Stakes, a race which has produced 12 Epsom and Irish Derby winners over the years, and which should give us some key clues moving forward.

Aidan O’Brien is often difficult to oppose in the main event as he usually runs one of his leading Derby horses. The master trainer has won it a ridiculous 17 times and his first-string looks like the one to side with once again.

15:40 Leopardstown - Pierre Bonnard @ 10/11

It’s usually a bad idea to take Aidan O’Brien on this race, especially as he has won eight of the last 10 renewals. The master of Ballydoyle runs two in it this year and the most exciting of the pair is long-time ante-post Derby favourite PIERRE BONNARD.

He looked in need of the experience when finishing fourth on debut in a mile maiden here in July. That form has worked out exceptionally well, with the front four all winning at least once since. The yard’s juveniles tend to improve for their debuts and that was definitely the case.

Heading to Dundalk next time, Pierre Bonnard managed to get off the mark with a very impressive performance. The son of Camelot saw the race out very well and definitely shaped as if longer trips would suit in the future. We could have a St Leger horse on our hands here.

A trip to Newmarket was next on the agenda for him and he produced another smart performance to win a Group 3 contest at the expense of stablemate Endorsement, who is in opposition once again. Clearly the 1m2f trip suited and stamina is his forte.

There was still more to come from him at two though, as he headed over to France for Saint-Cloud’s Criterium de Saint-Cloud in October. Pierre Bonnard was the odds-on favourite for that Group 1 contest, pulling clear to score by two lengths in the end.

Obviously his seasonal reappearance over course and distance was pretty underwhelming but he was clearly lacking sharpness and a significant amount of improvement is anticipated with that in mind. An impressive victory will solidify his status as a Derby contender.

NAPS table with Betfred Insights.