Camelot rides home to Curragh victory

Aidan O’Brien’s wonderful season continued when his hot favourite Camelot overcame adverse weather conditions to land the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh on Saturday evening

The smallest field since 1912 just five runners went to post on ground that was more like the type of surface National Hunt horses’ race on during the winter, but that didn’t deter Camelot who kept his unbeaten record intact when justifying the ridiculously cramped odds of 1/5 favourite.
Ridden by 19-year-old Joseph O’Brien, Camelot was settled fourth of the five runners as his stable mate, Epsom third Astrology took the field along at a decent pace.
Heading towards the two-furlong marker, O’Brien junior moved the jolly up to take the lead and, while he ran around a bit inside the final furlong, he still had plenty in the tank as he crossed the finishing line two lengths to the good over John Oxx’s Born To Sea.
While it was yet another big-race success for the all-conquering Ballydoyle operation, Saturday’s race was a huge disappointment and to say the weather proved a spoilsport would be a huge understatement.
Even the final declaration of seven runners was weak enough, but when Dermot Weld withdrew his intended runner, Speaking Of Which, and O’Brien opted not to run Imperial Monarch, who was likely to be Camelot’s main danger, the race was robbed of much of its sparkle.
But, a horse can only beat what is put in front of him and that is just what Camelot did. The victorious son of Montjeu bobbled a bit on the horrendous ground inside the final furlong, but, in truth, runner-up Born To Sea was never going to get past him.
For winning trainer O’Brien this was his 10th success in the race and his seventh consecutive win in Ireland’s most prestigious classic.
“I’m absolutely over the moon with today’s win,” said the elder O’Brien. “I was very worried about the ground. Joseph always felt soft ground would be a big problem for this horse and he’s just about got away with it this evening.
“At home he wouldn’t even walk on that type of ground. He had the speed to win the 2,000 Guineas, class won him the Epsom Derby, but it was raw courage the won it for him this evening.”
Looking ahead to later on in the season, O’Brien confided, “We have a statue of Nijinsky at home in Ballydoyle (the last horse to complete the Triple Crown back in 1970) and I’ve always felt it would be nice to have another one across from him. The Triple Crown (2,000 Guineas, Derby and the St Leger) has always been the dream and the plan it to give Camelot a
break now before coming back for an autumn campaign with the Leger at Doncaster the obvious target.”
Winning rider Joseph O’Brien must be pinching himself given that he has now ridden Camelot to victory in both the English and Irish Derbies while still just a teenager.
He said, “Camelot hated the ground. I was struggling a bit turning in and I was very worried. It’s a testament to the horse that he was able to go and do what he did on ground that he hates. His wheels were spinning, but he has a big heart and fought all the way to the line.”
The idea of moving the Derby to the final race on Saturday evening met with an indifferent response on the build-up to the meeting but the experiment seemed to work with a crowd of 23,211 (up 500 on 2011) attending despite the inclement weather.
Curragh manager Paul Hensey believes staging the big race at the end of an evening card is here to stay. He said, “My recommendation is that we stick to the same plan for next year. Considering the weather, I think the concept worked really and when you initiate a significant change like this, it can take a year or two to really build up.
“Down the line I think it will gather momentum and become a regular fixture in people’s diaries,” added Hensey.

Gosden plunders Pretty Polly prize

English trainer John Gosden saddled his third winner of the 10-furlong Group I Pretty Polly Stakes when his Izzi Top (6/4) upset 10-11 favourite Sapphire in this year’s Barclay’s Bank-sponsored renewal at the Curragh on Sunday.
Ridden by the in-form William Buick, Izzi Top came there cruising when tackling the Pat Smullen-ridden Sapphire as the two furlong marker approached with the successful daughter of Pivotal running on best in the closing stages to score by a length and a quarter.
“That’s my third time to win this race and it’s great,” stated Gosden. “William (Buick) said she didn’t like the ground and was idling in the last furlong. Her recent work at home has been very good and ten furlongs is her best trip, but ideally on better ground.”
While Dermot Weld and Pat Smullen had to settle for the runner-up berth with Sapphire, the duo fared much better in the Friarstown Stud International Stakes where Famous Name did the business.
Sent off 4/7 favourite to account for his four rivals, Famous Name swept to the head of affairs with over a furlong to run and never flinched as he forged clear to beat Defining Year by just under four lengths.
There is no doubting that Famous Name has been a wonderful servant to his owner Khalid Abdullah. Sunday’s success was his 17th in all – that includes 10 Group 3 races – and he isn’t finished just yet with Weld explaining; “Famous Name just loves training and racing. Not too many horses win 10 Group races which makes him a special horse. Nothing is easy with him and he just gets out there and battles.”
The master of Rosewell House is now targeting Group 1 success for Famous Name, indicating that the seven-year-old’s next outing will be in Munich in a race where he finished second 12 months ago.
While heavy ground over the three-day Derby weekend meeting meant that many horses were not seen at their best, John Oxx’s Hartani made light of the conditions when running out an impressive winner of Sunday’s Group 2 At The Races Curragh Cup.
Johnny Murtagh’s mount seemed to relish the squelching turf as the 5/2 shot pulled right away in the closing stages of this one-mile, six-furlong contest to beat the Chris Hayes-ridden 2/1 favourite Midnight Soprano by five and a half lengths.
The winner looks a real stayer with Oxx nominating one of the upcoming St Leger trials as Hartani’s next port of call.
On a day when stamina was a premium, proceedings came to a conclusion with a two-mile handicap where Captain Cee Bee (6/1) triumphed for leading owner JP McManus and Kildare trainer Eddie Harty.
Better known as a jumper, Captain Cee Bee was given a confident ride by Fran Berry who settled his mount towards the rear in the early stages. The winner took closer order off the home bend before stretching clear on the run-in to score a comfortable seven-length success.