Lambourn dominates Epsom Derby to give Aidan O'Brien record-extending 11th Classic success

Daily Mail​

3 hours ago

The clue was right in front of us. Lambourn, in Berkshire, is known as 'The valley of the Racehorse', so for Sue Magnier to decide 18 months ago that a handsome bay colt should carry the same name hinted it might have special qualities.
How perceptive Mrs Magnier, wife of the Coolmore supremo John, proved to be.
Lambourn, the horse, is special and there can be no denying it. Rare are the occasions when a runner leads from pillar to post in the Epsom Derby but here was one of those moments that invited wide-eyed amazement.
Yes, it was another victory for Aidan O'Brien, a record-extending 11th success, all achieved in a 24-year period, but it was difficult to watch this and not find joy in seeing his jockey Wayne Lordan power relentlessly clear, leaving 17 forlorn rivals legless behind him.
It was poetic and brutal in equal measure. Epsom asks question of a racehorse, mentally and physically, like nowhere else and some buckle. In the parade ring, you wondered whether Lambourn — who strutted around looking ready for the breeding sheds, not the racetrack — might boil over. Not a bit of it. Lordan's horsemanship in this most high-pressure environment was mesmerising, getting Lambourn back on an even keel the way a father will jolt an unruly child back into line. Once he was sent on his way, there was never a moment's concern.
'Wayne said to me coming out of the parade ring, 'This horse is on fire' and that was before the race,' said O'Brien, whose joy felt as fresh as when he welcomed back his first winner Galileo — Lambourn's grandfather — back in 2001. 'He's given him an unbelievable ride and he's a special fella.'
Lordan is a crucial member of O'Brien's squad, who gets second pick on the horses in big races that stable jockey Ryan Moore overlooks. It would be wrong to call him a 'Super Sub'; if he was a Premier League footballer, he would be the back-up striker who comes in but does not diminish a team's quality.
He always hoped he would be on board Lambourn, a well-backed 13-2 chance, and he grabbed his chance with both hands, turning the screw after he floated around Tattenham Corner and waving goodbye to those in behind.
This handsomely compensated for Friday's near miss on Whirl, who was beaten by Minnie Hauk in Friday's Oaks. Lazy Griff, trained by Charlie Johnston, looked briefly as if he might give his syndicate of owners, Middleham Park Racing, the ultimate thrill but his pilot Christophe Soumillon was forced to concede the task of bridging the gap was impossible in the last two furlongs.
'I was surprised by my horse's odds (50-1) because I thought he would run well,' said the Belgian.
'I had a dream run and two furlongs out I thought I would go for it. But when I got to the winner, he just went away.'
Lambourn had beaten Lazy Griff by one-and-a-half lengths last month, when the pair warmed up for Epsom in the Chester Vase, but here the gap extended to almost four lengths. Tennessee Stud was third but O'Brien's other fancied runners, Delacroix and The Lion In Winter, were never sighted.
Many feel O'Brien's stranglehold on Epsom is a bad thing, that no stable should ever have a near monopoly on the Derby. He had scooped the Oaks and Coronation Cup on Friday with Minnie Hauk and Jan Brueghel, too, meaning he has won these Group One events a combined 32 times.
This is not superiority, it is total domination but it is not going to stop. Ballydoyle, an oasis of perfection in Tipperary, was established by Vincent O'Brien (no relation) to create the ultimate racehorse in 1951 and the current resident, who moved in back in 1995, will not stop in his quest for perfection.
'Everything in Ballydoyle is about Epsom,' O'Brien explained. 'This is how the thoroughbred breed is assessed every year, the fillies and colts. Everything in
Ballydoyle is left-handed. Every piece of work the horses do is left-handed. When they canter home — even the sprinters — they go left-handed.
'The whole breed is assessed by the Derby and the Oaks. They are difficult races — you go left, you go right. It's up and it's down and it's the ultimate test. The track has to be like that, to test them. Dr O'Brien set up Ballydoyle and we are just privileged to be there.'