Irish Derby or King George before the Arc - where might Desert Crown head next?

Winning the Cazoo Derby is the summit of achievement for many trainers and owners and it has not been all plain sailing for several recent winners of the race in their future careers.

But when an Epsom hero stamps his authority on a generation of Classic colts in the way Desert Crown achieved on Saturday, the possibilities that open up are a tempting treasure trove of the top middle-distance prizes in Europe and beyond.

In particular both trainer Sir Michael Stoute and jockey Richard Kingscote pointed to the speed the son of Nathaniel posseses, meaning a return to a mile and a quarter at some stage is entirely possible.

Indeed a Group 1 success over that trip might be deemed a requirement for Desert Crown's commercial attractiveness at stud, whether he is retired at the end of this season or given the opportunity to mature further by a trainer well versed in such projects with older horses.

Derby double?

The first question Stoute faces is whether to attempt the Derby double in Ireland. Desert Crown was not initially entered at the Curragh but his win at Epsom has gained him automatic entry to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

Of Stoute's previous five Derby winners, Shergar and Shahrastani both completed the double in the 1980s, while North Light was beaten in 2004.

Sir Michael Stoute after Desert Crown's win in the DerbyCredit: Edward Whitaker

King George route?

Kris Kin and Workforce were given extra time to recuperate before tackling their elders in the King George, a race Stoute holds dear to his heart, and completing that double might be more attractive to him, even if it means running into Godolphin's highly touted Adayar or Hurricane Lane.

The only alternative should the team wish Desert Crown to have one more run against his own age group would be the Grand Prix de Paris on July 14 but Ascot later that month is likely to be the more appealing option.

Trainers are creatures of habit and it would not be a surprise to see Stoute ask his unbeaten Derby winner to succeed where both Kris Kin and Workforce failed, albeit they were beaten by brilliant King George winners in Alamshar and Harbinger.

There is also the Coral-Eclipse, which falls a week after the Irish Derby and gives the three-year-olds the maximum weight-for-age. But although Stoute has won Sandown's summer feature a record-equalling six times, all those successes came via older horses, and this year Desert Crown's stablemate Bay Bridge looks tailor-made for that task.

Could ground be the key for an Arc challenge?

The big question to be answered is whether the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe will be Desert Crown's big end-of-season target, and that might be determined by whether Stoute feels good ground is particularly important.

The Derby winner has looked adaptable so far – the ground at Epsom was certainly not lightning fast and he won his maiden on soft – and the prospect of a wet October in Paris should not be a major fear.

Again looking at history, Workforce ran the fastest Derby in history in 2010 but was still able to prevail over Nakayama Festa in attritional conditions in the Arc.

Taking the King George and the Arc as the bookends, Stoute might get the chance in between to have a shy at an important mile-and-a-quarter prize in the Juddmonte International or the Irish Champion Stakes.

If Desert Crown can remain unbeaten through any two of those three races heading to Paris, we will be in for something special.

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