It's Wayne's World as Lambourn scores another O'Brien win
Wayne Lordan powers Lambourn to victory in the Betfred Derby at Epsom - the eighth win in 11 years for Irish trainers and Aidan O'Brien's 11th win in the showpiece (Reuters via Beat Media Group subscription)
By James Toney at Epsom
Aidan O'Brien is a master of passing praise to others, to the point where he'd thank the milkman at Ballydoyle before he took any credit himself.
But as Lambourn galloped clear to win a remarkable 11th Epsom Derby for a trainer in a league of his own, his jockey Wayne Lordan deserved even more than equal billing at Epsom.
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Lordan is used to playing second string to star jockey Ryan Moore, and yet he produced a brilliant runaway victory to claim a four-length win ahead of long-shot Lazy Griff and Joseph O'Brien's Tennessee Stud.
Lordan has been third twice in this race and while all the pre-parade buzz was about Lambourn's stablemates Delacroix and The Lion in Winter, he always felt he had a live chance.
And so it proved, striking the front around Tattenham Corner and flying down the rollercoaster cambers of the most frenetic finish in racing.
It secured O'Brien his 47th English Classic and sets him up for an unprecedented bid to complete a sweep of the French, English and Irish Derby titles at the Curragh later this month.
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But this was a day for Lordan, 43, who spent eight months sidelined two seasons ago after a horror fall in the Irish Derby that left him knocked out with fractures to his legs and elbow.
The rider spent almost a fortnight in Tallaght Hospital before beginning his road to recovery at Beaumont Hospital and only returned to work at Ballydoyle at the start of 2024.
"He does the work for so many of our big horses, he's there with us every day and it's just a massive privilege to have a man like him on our team," said O'Brien, who also won Friday's showpiece Oaks.
"He's an unbelievable team player and he never offends anyone. You won't find anyone in racing with a bad word to stay about Wayne.
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"I knew how he was going to run the race, he was aggressive out of the gates and got him into a lovely position. I knew every inch he took, he wasn't going to give back.
"He was obviously expecting something to come and challenge him, but he's a very genuine horse. I'm delighted for Wayne, I couldn't be happier.
"Before the race, he told me 'this fella is on fire', so a big thanks to him for making it happen."
Lordan, who grew up in a point-to-point racing family in Cork, admits he's happy to fly under the radar in racing's most storied yard, especially when he can emerge from the clouds to win like he did here on the Surrey Downs.
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The 43-year-old has won big races before, a Breeders' Cup and two English 1000 Guineas in his resume of Group Ones, but admitted this one was as big as it gets.
"It's a special race to win, when you are getting into racing, this is the one you want to ride in," he said.
"I've been third a couple of times, and I'm just glad this worked out.
"He's a lovely, genuine horse when I got into a rhythm, I could see he was enjoying i,t and I was able to go forward good and early, as we always felt he was a horse that stays well. I was just happy to pass the line, and he's got an exciting future this horse, I'd give him the chance to get any trip."
Where Lambourn heads now remains to be seen, but O'Brien hinted the Irish Derby and St Leger could be targets.
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