Benvenuto Cellini has been handed a 124p Timeform rating after his Irish Derby win at the Curragh, making Aidan O’Brien’s colt the second-highest-rated winner of the race in the past decade.
The Frankel colt beat Epsom Derby winner Christmas Day by a length and three-quarters on Sunday, answering the questions left by his controversial non-runner call at Epsom earlier this month.
According to Thoroughbred Daily News, Timeform lifted Benvenuto Cellini 6lb to 124p, leaving him level with stablemate and French Derby winner Constitution River.
King George Route Now Comes Into Focus
Timeform’s Irish handicapper Billy Nash pointed to the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes as a logical next step, noting that Westover went from the Irish Derby to Ascot after posting the only higher Irish Derby figure in the last 10 runnings.
That puts Benvenuto Cellini firmly back among Ballydoyle’s leading middle-distance options after a messy Derby experience at Epsom, where he was deemed not to have been given a fair start.
The timing matters, too, because the older-horse division is beginning to form around Ascot, York and the autumn championship races.
O’Brien is hardly short of Group One ammunition, with Constitution River also prominent in the summer picture, but Benvenuto Cellini’s Curragh number gives him substance as well as redemption heading into the next round of elite 12-furlong targets.
