The Curragh is set to welcome back 1,000 racegoers for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby this Saturday.

The eight-race card is one of a series of trials announced by the Government designed to facilitate the return of spectators to sporting events. It will be the first time the general public will be seen on a racecourse since March 2020 in the Republic of Ireland, though the Nothern Ireland track Down Royal hosted 1,000 attendees at two fixtures last week.

Tickets are sold out for the all-outdoor Curragh event and there will be strict protocols in place on the day that include designated arrival times to avoid large numbers gathering at the entrance gate, a temperature check on arrival and a mostly cashless amenity system on the grounds.

A selection of on-course bookmakers will also make a welcome return.

The majority of Irish racecourses have been under immense financial pressure over the last 18 months so all eyes will be on the test event, with the hope that tracks hosting racegoers will become a more regular occurrence sooner rather than later.

O’Brien charges

Unsurprisingly Aidan O’Brien holds the favourite for the big race in the shape of High Definition, who was pulled out of the Epsom Derby late in the day. The Galileo colt has raced just once this season, finishing third in the Dante Stakes at York and has been given time to mature further, having initially looked electric when winning the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh last September.

He could take on a number of Derby also-rans, including runner-up Mojo Star, third Hurricane Lane and fourth Mac Swiney – Jim Bolger’s colt who landed the Irish Guineas at the Kildare track last month.

O’Brien holds a record 14 wins in the Irish Derby, but only recorded his first win in the Prix de Diane, the French equivalent of the Oaks, on Sunday with Joan Of Arc.

The victory was the Ballydoyle, Co Tipperary-based trainer’s third classic win in France already this season after St Mark’s Basilica landed both the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club.

Locally-based veteran jockey Ioritz Mendizabal was in the saddle for all three wins and labelled O’Brien as “Father Christmas” after the win on Sunday.

O’Brien only sent out two winners at the Royal Ascot meeting last week – Love in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Point Lonsdale in the Chesham Stakes.

In all, Irish trainers were responsible for six winners at Royal Ascot, including Poetic Flare’s impressive win in the St James’s Palace Stakes and a notable success for predominantly National Hunt-focused trainer Gavin Cromwell in the Queen Mary Stakes with Quick Suzy.