Saffron Waldon zipped to the top of the Epsom Derby market when Saturday's Entenmann's Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh yet again proved an outsider's paradise.
In the 1984 Guineas, Saffron Waldon's sire, the all-powerful Sadler's Wells was deserted by Pat Eddery in favour of the now forgotten Capture Him. Sadler's Wells won before becoming a seminal figure in Irish breeding.
Four years later, John Reid chose Caerwent from Ballydoyle only to suffer the frustration of coming second to his stable companion, Prince Of Birds. That colt did little afterwards but the modern Ballydoyle camp are banking on Saffron Waldon following in his Daddy's footsteps.
Owner John Magnier's reaction to Saffron Waldon's three-lengths defeat of the English Guineas runner-up Enrique with his apparent first string Orpen only third was "surprised is the word".
The sight of Olivier Peslier producing Saffron Waldon on the outside with an impressive winning burst must have been just plain galling for Orpen's jockey Mick Kinane, but it was enough for Ladbrokes to go 6 to 1 favourite Saffron Waldon for the Derby yesterday.
Aidan O'Brien's initial reaction to Epsom was "remember last year"? Twelve months ago, he fired three Group One-winning barrels at Epsom and missed the target by some distance. However, after consultations with the owners, Epsom was confirmed as the aim.
O'Brien said yesterday: "He's come out of the race well and all being well he'll be at Epsom. Tchaikovsky, Urban Ocean and possibly High King are other possibles, and Yeoman's Point will run in the Italian Derby."
The trainer added of Saffron Waldon: "He has loads of class and speed and he quickened like a good one. He is only gaining momentum at the end of his races, which is encouraging for him getting the trip at Epsom, and Olivier has no doubts."
A record-priced 1.2 million guineas yearling, Saffron Waldon is a half brother to the sprintermiler, Dolphin Street, but Peslier was upbeat about his second Irish Guineas winner lasting it out in the Derby.
"He won very well and he stayed well. I think he will stay a mile and a half because he is a little bit lazy and he fight well," said France's premier jockey, who won the race with Desert Prince last year.
Kieren Fallon reported "no excuses" for Enrique whose owners, the Niarchos family, could console themselves with having retained an interest in the winner, whom they bred. Enrique conclusively reversed Newmarket form with Island Sands, whose rider Frankie Dettori said: "I was never happy and he ran very flat."
Orpen was reported to have settled better than he did at Newmarket but was still a little fresh; while Dermot Weld expressed satisfaction with the fourth, Mus-If, who looked a real threat when taking it up at the three-furlong pole.
However, Saffron Waldon confirmed himself as a fast improving colt who, in an open year, will travel to Epsom with a first-rate chance. Indeed so open is the Derby that Ladbrokes spokesman Mike Dillon commented: "If it wasn't for the stamina doubts, he would definitely be favourite." Come the afternoon of June 5th, he may well regret his 7 to 1 generosity.
Generous was not Frankie Dettori's view of the stewards after they gave the Italian a two-day ban for excessive use of the whip for his winning ride on Eastern Purple in the Weatherbys Greenlands Stakes. Dettori misses June 2nd and 3rd, but it was still a memorable success for Eastern Purple's Thirsk-based trainer, Kevin Ryan, who is originally from Co Tipperary and is in his first full season.
A good day for Ballydoyle was confirmed when Fasliyev took the Marble Hill Stakes at odds of 4 to 9 and set himself up for a tilt at Royal Ascot's Coventry Stakes; while Dermot Weld's top-weight Tarry Flynn turned the seven-furlong handicap into a procession under Pat Smullen.
Running Stag, Philip Mitchell's globetrotting flag-bearer, has arrived safely in the US ahead of his next target on Saturday. The five-year-old runs in the 600,000 Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs in Boston.
