Not even royalty can loosen trainer Aidan O’Brien’s stranglehold on Ireland’s richest flat race.
At the Curragh today, he captured his sixth Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby in a row with the Coolmore Stud-owned Treasure Beach, who led home a one-two-three in the race for the Tipperary-based horseman.
The fourth home was Queen Elizabeth the second’s Carlton House, who carried the hopes of not just the British monarch, but also of many punters, who sent him off a reasonably well-backed 5/4 favourite.
Her bloodstock adviser and racing manager, John Warren, said today the queen was keen to follow up her successful State visit to the Republic by running Carlton House in the race.
Unfortunately, he was not good enough on the day to deny O’Brien, who has made the Irish Derby his own with a total of nine wins, eight of them in the last 10 years, and six of them consecutively.
The winning trainer was quick to acknowledge Queen Elizabeth’s gesture after the race. “She’s a very special lady,” he said, adding that her visit was hugely important for both countries.
Her visit may have given her an inkling of what was to come yesterday, as she took in Coolmore Stud during her stay in the Republic. Coolmore owns not only the winner, but his sire, Gallileo, who also fathered the second horse, home,
Seville, while another of the farm’s stallions, Hurricane Run, is responsible for the third, Memphis Tennesse.
While Mr O’Brien must be getting used to taking the Derby trophy home every year, the win was a first for Treasure Beach’s jockey, Colm O’Donoghue. He has ridden placed horses in the race several time, but today was the first time he has piloted the victor home. “It’s very exciting for me,” he said afterwards.
Coincidentally, three men share ownership of the first three horses home - John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, the partners behind Coolmore Stud, the Tipperary bloodstock operation that has branches in the United States and Australia.
While Carlton House was well fancied, the winner was the subject of some support in the betting ring as well, with bookmakers reporting that some high rollers placed bets of up to €20,000 each-way on the victor, who was originally priced at 4/1, before the weight of money narrowed that to 7/2.
They also reported some each-way support for the second horse home, Seville, who was backed from 6/1 to 5/1.
Those shrewd punters were not the only ones who walked away from the Curragh feeling a bit better off today. Niamh Canavan from Wexford won Best Dressed Lady, earning a free five star holiday in Dubai, courtesy of the day’s sponsor, Dubai Duty Free, and €1,000 in spending money to bring with her.
Onlookers generally agreed that it was her pink hat that clinched the prize (a case of winning by a head).