THIS weekend sees the running of one of the great horseracing events of the international calendar, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The indications, at this stage, are that we do not have a California Chrome or an American Pharoah (the superior winners in 2014 and 2015) waiting in the wings, but that is what the race itself is meant to show.

A big field often means there is a need for luck, and I would not be especially keen on the two shortest-priced horses at the time of writing – Always Dreaming and Classic Empire – for all that they have solid claims.

Of more interest are the next two in, Irish War Cry and McCraken. The former beat the very smart pair Gunnevera and Classic Empire by clear margins in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February and bounced back from an inexplicably poor show next time to win the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in similarly emphatic fashion, looking strong at the finish of that nine furlongs.

McCraken gave weight and a beating to some smart rivals in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay in February and cannot have been at his best when only third in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in early-April.

It also seems worth giving a second look to the outsider Hence, who strung out his rivals in the Sunland Derby at Sunland in March. The next three home that day have all run well since, but that win seems to have been viewed as a fluke.

The draw could play its part – hard against the inner or wide is not good news usually – but, if pressed, I would nominate Irish War Cry, a son of Curlin, to carry my money.

Either way, it should be a good spectacle, and – who knows? – may turn up a really good horse from a crowd of hopefuls.