Benvenuto Cellini (3c Frankel - Newspaperofrecord, by Lope De Vega) claimed Classic glory with victory in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday, leading home a one-two-three for Ballydoyle in the process. The Coolmore and White Birch Farm homebred was returning to his favoured good ground, having won the Group 2 Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown last year and the Group 3 Chester Vase this term by five lengths and four and a quarter lengths respectively. Ridden by Ryan Moore, the Ballydoyle-trained colt settled in rear after leaving the stalls and switched right before moving up into midfield after four furlongs. The colt soon made fluent headway and took up the lead from two furlongs out. He was ridden out to score by a length and three-quarters from Epsom Derby hero Christmas Day (by Camelot), with 2025 Group 1-winning juvenile Pierre Bonnard (by Camelot) in third. Aidan O’Brien said: “We always liked him obviously and he had a very good run in Chester before Epsom. “Obviously all the things seemed to conspire against him at Epsom. It was very difficult for Ryan, I thought it was probably impossible to make up two furlongs. He wasn’t beaten one furlong; he was beaten two in Epsom. I’m delighted for Ryan because it was a difficult decision. “He went out with an open mind about what could happen today, whether he was going to end up last or he was going to end up going down the rail. Obviously his mind is very quick and he thought that was the right thing. “I’m delighted for the lads; they put in so much. A lot of people put a lot of hard work into it. There are people I don’t mention, in Coolmore and Ballydoyle, and I’m grateful to them. “He’s a beautiful mover with a lot of class. Ryan felt with this horse that he’d rather go back to a mile and a quarter than go any further than a mile and a half, so that’s class. “He always worked with that class as well whereas we knew Christmas Day would stay further. He wasn’t going to be easy to catch because he was ridden forward, positive. Wayne [Lordan's] horse [Pierre Bonnard] we felt had excuses in Epsom as well and he ran back to what we thought he was.” Joint owner John Magnier added: “It’s a pity Peter and Stephanie [Brant] can’t be here. “They were coming to Epsom, but she fell ill in London, and you know what happened with the horse, he was a non-runner. Peter understands the breeding industry, and he knows this game. “He had an awful lot of horses at one point and then he got out of it, then he got back into it again. It’s no accident he would be involved in breeding a Derby winner. He must be the best three-year-old there is at the moment.”