CAMELOT THE FAIRYTALE

Camelot with Joseph O’Brien aboard…
(Photo : Herlad)

INVESTEC DERBY (Group 1)
Epsom Downs, Turf, 2400m
2 June 2012

Geoff Lester - Aidan O’Brien, who has sent out five seconds since he last won the G1 Investec Derby with High Chaparral in 2002, might still have 24 entries for the Blue Riband Classic, the Group 1 Invested Derby at Epsom on June 2, but the record-breaking Ballydoyle trainer had eyes only for G1 2000 Guineas winner Camelot (Ire) (Montjeu) when he unveiled his team of superstars at a press open day Monday morning at the famed training center.

Asked whether he was confident that Camelot, who came from last at Newmarket, would have the stamina for the mile and a half, O’Brien said: “Being by Montjeu, you would have to be optimistic that he will stay, but there are also serious Danehill and Kingmambo traits in Camelot, and he has always been a horse with tremendous speed.”

O’Brien continued, “Epsom is a unique atmosphere and can get to many horses, and, while Camelot is a calm individual and very relaxed, like so many with such an explosive burst of acceleration he has lots of nervous energy, so we have to be careful with him, and he won’t do too much more work before the big day.”

Joseph O’Brien, who will be 19 next week, celebrated his first British Classic success on Camelot at Newmarket, and his father admitted that both he and his wife Anne-Marie will be the proudest parents in the world if he happens to win at Epsom.

“We are enjoying what is a fairytale with Joseph riding these big winners, but I don’t even want to think about how I would feel if the dream became reality at Epsom,” he said. “It could all have ended in disaster in the French Guineas on Sunday when Furner’s Green took a fatal fall passing the winning post.”

“Camelot has been a special horse from day one,” O’Brien said of the likely Derby favourite. “We were very nervous before the Guineas, especially as we knew that Joseph was going to drop him out and ride him like a doubtful stayer. Joseph wanted him to learn at Newmarket, and what I liked was the way that Camelot came through the gaps between horses and put his head down and fought. Camelot has the looks, the pedigree and the presence, and he reminds me of a dressage horse in that his movement is perfection.”

As for his rising star stable jockey, O’Brien offered, “Joseph has never known anything but horses from the moment he could walk. He used to sit in the back of the jeep with me on the gallops in the mornings before he went to school, and then he would ride out every weekend. He has been involved in all the discussions about the horses from an early age, and he has been with us in the good days and the ordinary days. Joseph rides out every morning, and our other three children have also starting riding out, but we all know nothing else. We don’t do holidays - apart from when we go to the Breeders’ Cup!”

“We are all very excited about the Derby, but it is a long time since we have won (39 losers since High Chaparral), and many a year we have come home feeling very humble. We have done everything we can, and now we can, but hope and pray that Camelot is good enough.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

FULFILLING PEDIGREE POTENTIAL

Sadler’s Wells and Darshaan
(Image : Sport Horse Data/Aga Khan Studs)

PEDIGREE INSIGHTS
Andrew Caulfield

For investors in high-class bloodstock, there was something very reassuring about the results of all three European Classics contested over the weekend. They all fell to animals that were fulfilling the Classic potential of both sides of pedigrees, as all three are by stallions with previous Classic winners to their credit, and all three come from families that had produced winners of the Epsom Derby or Oaks.

The Investec Oaks went to Dancing Rain, who became the first mile-and-a-half Classic winner for Danehill Dancer, following his Group 1 Classic successes over a mile with Speciosa, Again and Mastercraftsman. Dancing Rain also became the third female Classic winner out of a daughter of Indian Ridge, this particular daughter of Indian Ridge being Rain Flower, a three-parts sister to the 1992 Epsom Derby winner Dr Devious.

Next in the sequence came Pour Moi, whose startling last-to-first effort provided Montjeu with his third winner of the Investec Derby in the space of seven years. Those seven years have also seen three other Montjeu colts win the Irish Derby and another two win the Grand Prix de Paris (many people’s idea of France’s true equivalent to the Derby). Consequently, Montjeu has unrivaled claims to being Europe’s most prolific source of mile-and-a-half Classic colts.

Pour Moi’s third dam is Northern Dancer’s famous daughter Royal Statute, who also ranks as the second dam of Snow Bride, the filly awarded the 1989 Oaks prior to becoming the dam of the 1995 Derby winner Lammtarra.

Finally, the Prix du Jockey-Club fell to the unbeaten Reliable Man, whose sire Dalakhani won the same race in the days before its distance was shortened. Some would argue that victory should have gone to another son of Dalakhani, the slow-starting Baraan, but that doesn’t change the fact that Dalakhani now has three Classic winners from his first four crops, the others being Conduit (St Leger) and Moonstone (Irish Oaks). Dalakhani’s crops haven’t been as large as those of some of his rivals - his three Classic winners come from a total of 288 foals in his first four crops.

Reliable Man’s Classic connection on his dam’s side comes from his second dam Fair Salinia, winner of the Oaks in 1978 before adding the Irish equivalent with the help of the stewards.

The other common denominator between Pour Moi and Reliable Man is the presence in their pedigrees of Sadler’s Wells and his old rival Darshaan. Whereas Pour Moi is by a son of Sadler’s Wells and has a dam by Darshaan, Reliable Man is by a son of Darshaan and has a dam by Sadler’s Wells.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

POUR MOI WINS INVESTEC DERBY IN SCINTILLATING STYLE

Pour Moi wins the Investec Derby (Gr1)
(Image : Guardian)

INVESTEC DERBY (Gr1)
Epsom Downs, 4 June 2011 

Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith’s Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu), who burst onto the Epsom scene only after a successful run in the Gr2 Prix Greffulhe at Saint-Cloud on May 7, finally provided Andre Fabre with a victory in the Gr1 Investec Derby after nine failed attempts. Brought with his familiar rattle from last to first by the 19-year-old jockey prodigy Mickael Barzalona, the 4-1 second choice grabbed the Ballydoyle outsider Treasure Beach (GB) (Galileo) in the shade of the post with his jockey standing up in the irons in celebration.

“He’s a good horse, and is the one I wanted to win this race with,” Fabre said after saddling the first French-trained Blue Riband winner since Empery in 1976. “It is no accident that he has won. I was surprised to see he had two accelerations, one to catch up and another gear to win. Running a mile and a half for the first time helped him. It is such a pleasure to win this race with my young jockey - I couldn’t be happier.” He continued, “He gave everything today and deserves a rest. I will probably give him a summer break and bring him back for a prep ahead of the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (at Longchamp October 2). All horses improve with time.”

In the end, a head separated the front two, with The Queen’s 5-2 favorite Carlton House (Street Cry) 3/4 of a length behind in third, having run a genuine race after missing the kick and losing a shoe late on.

Trainer of Carlton House, Sir Michael Stoute told PA Sport, “He’s run very well, but things just haven’t gone right. He had a hold-up close to the race and during it he got too far back and then had to run wide into the straight. He’s still a high-class colt, and he will have a big day.”

Aidan O’Brien expressed himself pleased with all his four runners, three of whom made the first six.

INVESTEC DERBY (Gr1)
Final Results

#	LBH	Horse	Sire	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	POUR MOI	Montjeu	7	M Barzalona	Andre Fabre
2	hd	TREASURE BEACH	Galileo	12	C O’Donoghue	Aidan O”Brien
3	3/4	CARLTON HOUSE	Street Cry	13	R Moore	Sir Michael Stoute
4	3/4	MEMPHIS TENNESSEE	Hurricane Run	6	J O’Brien	Aidan O”Brien
5	3/4	NATIVE KHAN	Azamour	3	J Murtagh	Ed Dunlop
6	2	RECITAL	Montjeu	4	P Smullen	Aidan O”Brien
7	nk	VADAMAR	Dalakhani	9	C Lemaire	Alain de Royer-Dupre
8	4	MASKED MARVEL	Montjeu	5	W Buick	John Gosden
9	19	PISCO SOUR	Lemon Drop Kid	1	J Fortune	Hughie Morrison
10	3	SEVILLE	Galileo	2	C Soumillon	Aidan O”Brien
11	7	OCEAN WAR	Dalakhani	10	L Dettori	Mahmoud Al Zarooni
12	3 1/4	CASTLEMORRIS KING	And Beyond	11	M Coumbe	Michael Attwater
13	55	MARHABA MALYOON	Tiger Hill	8	J Spencer	David Simcock

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

CARLTON HOUSE : KING FOR THE QUEEN

Carlton House
(Photo : Racingbase)

INVESTEC DERBY (Gr1)
Epsom Downs Racecourse
4 June 2011

The Queen’s Carlton House (Street Cry) will face a maximum of 16 rivals in Saturday’s G1 Investec Derby after the six-day declarations were made Monday. Almost certain to start favorite for the blue riband, the Sir Michael Stoute trainee will face a clutch of colts from Coolmore interests with the list showing a quintet from Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable alongside the Andre Fabre-trained Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu).

The Queen’s Racing Manager John Warren had nothing but good news for fans of the G2 Dante Stakes winner yesterday. “Carlton House is all on target for Epsom,” Warren said. “He had a nice blow yesterday at Newmarket and the trainer is very happy with him at this point. Carlton House will be kept ticking over this week. There is excitement all round and I think the whole country is starting to focus on it and everyone is excited by the prospect.”

Godolphin left in a trio, but are expected to field a sole representative in the general 16-1 shot Ocean War (GB) (Dalakhani). Nevertheless, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum will be watching the unfolding story of Carlton House keenly, as he bred the colt and presented him to the monarch as a present. “I am sure he would be absolutely thrilled, almost as excited as The Queen,” Racing Manager Simon Crisford commented yesterday. “Obviously, everyone wants The Queen to win and we’ll all be trying our best to beat Carlton House, but having gifted the colt to The Queen I think it would mean a huge amount to Sheikh Mohammed. He’s incredibly excited about the whole possibility.”

Queen Elizabeth comes to Derby Day every year, usually accompanied by Prince Philip.

As a racehourse owner, The Queen has had nine attempts to win the Epsom Derby - with a second place (Aureole, Coronation year, 1953) the best. Her last entry was thirty years ago. Her previous entries are detailed below:

AUREOLE (1953 - 2nd)
Aureole came closest to giving the Queen a Derby victory when runner-up to Pinza at Epsom Downs. Ridden by Harry Carr, the colt was sixth into the home straight and made headway in the final three furlongs but was unable to peg back Pinza.

LANDAU (1954 - 8th)
Landau finished a length second to Rowston Manor in the Lingfield Derby Trial but in the Derby itself, the colt led from three furlongs out until the quarter-mile mark, at which point he weakened tamely to finish eighth under Willie Snaith as Never Say Die went on to win.

ATLAS (1956 - 5th)
Sent off a 50/1 shot, Atlas made late headway at Epsom, coming home strongly under Harry Carr, to take fifth, a little over three lengths behind the victorious Lavandin.

DOUTELLE (1957 - 10th)
A winner of the Lingfield Derby Trial, Doutelle was at 100/6 chance for the Derby. But he was never in contention, trailing in tenth behind the winner Crepello under jockey Harry Carr.

MINER’S LAMP (1958 - 6th)
Miner’s Lamp’s won Epsom’s Blue Riband Trial Stakes but was never able to challenge the front rank in the Derby and shared sixth place behind the winner, Hard Ridden.

ABOVE SUSPICION (1959 - 5th)
Sent off at 100/6 for the Derby, Above Suspicion raced towards the rear under Doug Smith before making strong progress in the home straight, running on to take fifth, three lengths behind his victorious stablemate, Parthia.

ENGLISH HARBOUR (1978 - 18th)
Ridden by Joe Mercer, English Harbour was never a factor in the Derby as he trailed home a distant 18th behind Shirley Heights, a horse he had finished fifth behind on his two-year-old debut in Newmarket’s Limekiln Stakes.

MILFORD (1979 - 10th)
Sent off the 15/2 third favourite under Lester Piggott, the Royal colt weakened in the straight to finish about 15 lengths behind the triumphant Troy.

CHURCH PARADE (1981 - 5th)
Church Parade kept on at one pace under Willie Carson to take fifth, 18 lengths behind the imperious Shergar.

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

HISTORY OF THE INVESTEC DERBY

Click above to watch Investec Derby - Heritage and History (2010)
(Image and Footage : Investec Derby)

INVESTEC DERBY
Epsom Downs Racecourse
4 June 2011

Saturday 4 June 2011 sees the running of the Investec Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse; a group one flat race run over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is the world’s greatest flat race. It is also the race that every Owner, Trainer and Jockey want to win more than any other.

The town of Epsom first became famous for its natural mineral water in 1618 when a local farmer, Henry Wicker, took his cattle up to a watering hole on the Downs. The alleged healing properties of the water brought crowds from London who wanted to escape the city squalor in return for clean country air.

In 1661 Sir Isaac Newton, one of the greatest scientists and mathematicians in history, commenced his education at Trinity College, Cambridge. The same year saw the first recorded race meeting held on the Epsom and Walton Downs. It was in the summer of 1780 when one of today’s greatest sporting spectacles was established.

Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby, organised a friendly competition for himself and his friends to race their three-year-old fillies over one and a half miles. He named his race The Oaks after his estate. The following year a new race was added, a race that would determine the Best of the Best for both the racing and breeding of racehorses. The title of the race was to be decided by the tossing of a coin between the Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury, a leading racing figure of the day and friend of the Earl’s.

This tossed coin was won by Stanley and the mile race would be known as ‘The Derby’; won incidentally, that very first year by Sir Charles Bunbury’s horse, Diomed.

In 1913 suffragette Emily Davison threw herself in front of King George V’s horse Anmer, bringing him down. Davison’s skull was fractured and she died four days later. Meanwhile, first past the post Craganour, was disqualified and 100/1 runner-up Aboyeur was awarded the race.

2006 saw a multi-horse finish rivalling that of 1913 as the closest ever. In a four-way photo, Sir Percy beat Dragon Dancer, Dylan Thomas and Hala Bek a short-head, a head and a short-head.

In its 230 years The Derby, now sponsored by Investec in a deal which runs to 2013, has enjoyed a colourful history.

Internationally, 140 other countries now hold a sporting ‘Derby’, but, Epsom still remains ‘The Home of The Derby’, attracting the largest one day sporting crowd in excess of 125,000 who, year upon year descend upon the picturesque Surrey racecourse to be part of something special - The Greatest Horse Race in the World.

National variations include the Prix du Jockey Club, the Irish Derby, the Deutsches Derby, the Derby Italiano and in Australia, the AJC Australian Derby, Queensland Derby, South Australian Derby, the VRC Victoria Derby and WATC Derby. The New Zealand Derby contested at Ellerslie Racecourse, Auckland is the richest Derby in the Southern Hemisphere. Several races in the United States bear the “Derby” name, the most famous of which is the Kentucky Derby.

The race, watched by 7 million in the UK is viewed in over a billion homes worldwide, continues to dominate the media nationally and internationally and with stories such as Sea the Stars winning in 2009 and going on to become the most valuable horse in the world the race will continue to flourish in its future.

A few memorable moments in Derby History :

1805 - One of the horses was brought down by a spectator.

1838 - Amato never raced before or after winning the Derby.

1844 - The original winner Running Rein was disqualified as he was actually an ineligible four-year-old horse named Maccabeus.

1881 - Iroquois became the first American-bred to win a leg of the British triple crown.

1884 - The race finished with a dead-heat between Harvester and St. Gatien.

1887 - Merry Hampton is the most recent horse to win the Derby with no previous victories.

1894 - The winner was owned by the Prime Minister at the time, the 5th Earl of Rosebery.

1901 - The first year in which a mechanical starting gate was used.

1909 - Minoru was the first Derby winner owned by a reigning monarch, King Edward VII, who had previously won twice as Prince of Wales.

1913 - The 6/4 favourite Craganour, owned by Charles B. Ismay, brother of J. Bruce Ismay of the Titanic, was controversially disqualified, and the race was awarded to the 100/1 outsider Aboyeur. Suffragette Emily Davison is struck by King George V’s horse, Anmer, she dies four days later.

1916 - Fifinella, who also won the Oaks, is the most recent of six fillies to win the race. The previous five were Eleanor (1801), Blink Bonny (1857), Shotover (1882), Signorinetta (1908), Tagalie (1912).

1921 - The winner Humorist died two weeks after the race.

1927 - The first Derby to be broadcast by the BBC.

1932 - April the Fifth is the most recent winner trained at Epsom.

1946 - Airborne is the most recent of 4 grey horses to win the Derby.

1953 - Pinza was the first winner in the race for the jockey Sir Gordon Richards, after 27 unsuccessful attempts.

1989 - The runner-up Terimon is the longest-priced horse to finish placed in the Derby, at odds of 500/1.

1996 - Alex Greaves became the first (and so far only) lady jockey to ride in the race. She finished last on the filly Portuguese Lil.

1998 - The most recent filly to take part, the 1,000 Guineas winner Cape Verdi, started as 11/4 favourite but could only finish 9th.

2007 - Authorized provided jockey Frankie Dettori with his first winner in the Derby after 14 previous attempts.

2008 - Jim Bolger, the trainer of New Approach, had left the horse entered for the race “by mistake”, having not initially intended to run.

Extracts from Epsom Derby and Wikipedia