Ambiente Friendly, second in the Group 1 English Derby earlier this month, was supplemented to Sunday’s Group 1 Irish Derby at The Curragh for the steep fee of $107,000 earlier this week. To win one of Europe’s leading prizes for 3-year-olds, Ambiente Friendly has a task that will resonate with American sports fans outside of Southern California: Beat L.A. Los Angeles, a colt trained by Aidan O’Brien, was the second pick in early betting as of Friday at 7-4, behind favored Ambiente Friendly at 5-4. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Ambiente Friendly, trained in Britain by James Fanshawe for the father-son team of Bill and Tim Gredley, has won 2 of 5 starts. In the English Derby on June 1, Ambiente Friendly was beaten 2 3/4 lengths by the O’Brien-trained City of Troy, while finishing 3 1/4 lengths clear of Los Angeles, who was third. Ambiente Friendly has yet to win a group stakes. He won the listed Lingfield Derby Trial Stakes at 1 7/16 miles at Lingfield Park near London by a convincing 4 1/2 lengths on May 11, which vaulted him onto the list of contenders for the English Derby. Robert Havlin, who rode Ambiente Friendly for the first time at Epsom, has the mount on Sunday. The $1.33 million Irish Derby, run at 1 1/2 miles, drew a field of eight, with half of them trained by O’Brien. He also starts Euphoric, Grosvenor Square, and The Euphrates, all longshots. Euphoric set the pace in the English Derby before fading to ninth. Grosvenor Square was a well-beaten third in the Group 3 Chester Vase in Britain last month. The Euphrates has the quickest turnaround for Sunday’s race after finishing fifth in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/2 miles at Royal Ascot on June 21. O’Brien has won the Irish Derby a record 15 times, including last year with Auguste Rodin, who later won the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita. Los Angeles was beaten for the first time in his fourth start in the English Derby. The colt was fractious before the start, while being loaded in the gate. Los Angeles raced near the front and led with three furlongs remaining before fading in his first try at 1 1/2 miles. Ryan Moore, who rides first call for O’Brien and the Coolmore syndicate, will ride Los Angeles for the first time on Sunday. Los Angeles is the only Group 1 winner in the Irish Derby field, having won the Criterium de Saint-Cloud at 1 1/4 miles for 2-year-olds in Paris last October in his final start of the year. The lightly raced colt Matsuri will have his group stakes debut in the Irish Derby for British trainer Roger Varian on the strength of an eight-length win in an allowance race at 1 1/4 miles at Leicester Racecourse in Britain in his 3-year-old debut on May 27. A winner of 2 of 3 starts, Matsuri raced as a stalker before taking a commanding lead with more than a furlong remaining. American Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez is riding in Ireland this weekend and has four mounts on the Irish Derby program. Velazquez does not ride the Irish Derby, but has a chance for a mild upset in the day’s first race, a handicap for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, on Thor’s Hammer, who was 8-1 in early betting as of Friday. Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud Feed the Flame, a Group 1 winner in Paris in 2023, will be a slight favorite to end a five-race losing streak in an open running of the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at Saint-Cloud Racecourse in Paris on Sunday. Feed the Flame, trained by Pascal Bary, was third in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom on May 31 in his last start. A winner of 3 of 9 starts, Feed the Flame won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris at 1 1/2 miles for 3-year-old colts and fillies at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris last July, his most recent win. The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, run at 1 1/2 miles, drew a competitive field of seven, including the O’Brien-trained Point Lonsdale, an easy winner of the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at 1 11/16 miles at Chester Racecourse on May 9 for his seventh win in 16 starts. Point Lonsdale is winless in seven Group 1 races, including a third in the 2023 Coronation Cup. Sunday’s race is the 2024 group stakes debut of the two-time Group 1 winner Iresine, who was ninth in the Grade 1 Japan Cup last November and the easy winner of a minor stakes in Lyon, France, on May 18. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.