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Lambourn delivers O'Brien record-extending 11th Epsom Derby

Lambourn delivers O'Brien record-extending 11th Epsom Derby

Yahoo4 days ago

Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien won a record-extending 11th Epsom Derby as Lambourn put up an astonishing performance to lead from start to finish on Saturday.
For O'Brien it completed an extraordinary two days as Minnie Hauk won the Oaks on Friday and his Jan Brueghel won the other Group One race, the Coronation Cup.
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It is not the first time the 55-year-old has achieved the Oaks/Derby double, last doing it in 2020 with Love (Oaks) and Serpentine who like Saturday's winner also made all to win.
"It's been an incredible two days, I am delighted," said O'Brien after in his usual generous fashion he had rattled off a whole series of people who should share in the glory.
"This horse is: uncomplicated, genuine and committed. He always has been."
Jockey Wayne Lordan was never challenged in winning his first Derby on his ninth ride in the race considered to be the 'blue riband' of flat racing.
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Lordan's career was in doubt a couple of years ago after a dreadful fall in the Irish Derby in which he suffered a fractured leg and elbow and was out of action for eight months.
"I had to go through a whole series of tests," he told English broadcaster ITV.
"I finally got the green light, but it was rather an odd way to tell me I could ride again.
"He said you are fit enough to take another fall. I knew if I had another fall it would the end of my career."
- 'Very disappointing' -
Saturday, though, represented his biggest ever victory, although it came in front of what looked to be a disappointing crowd, a smattering of spectators populating the normally packed Epsom Hill on the inside of the track.
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For Lordan -- "a great fella" opined O'Brien -- that mattered not a jot.
"It's one of the greatest races," said the 43-year-old.
"For any jockey that wants to start out, all they ever want to do is win the Derby and I work for Aidan, Ballydoyle, Coolmore so I'm in a lucky position that I get to ask a horse like this."
None of the other fancied horses landed a blow and it was two outsiders that were closest at the finish -- Lazy Griff (50/1) was second with 28/1 chance Tennessee Stud, trained by O'Brien's son Joseph, third.
"I knew I'd gone a good gallop, his ears were pricked and I knew he had plenty left," said Lordan.
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"He's a horse that we've always felt stays well so I just thought anybody that gets to me will have to stay well and it'd be tough for them."
Lambourn more than made up for O'Brien's hugely disappointing race favourite, Delacroix.
He was in the middle of the 18-runner field initially but as they turned for home he was third from last, his jockey Ryan Moore telling O'Brien he had been bumped and never recovered from the impact.
He eventually finished ninth.
There had been hopes that the Aga Khan Stud-owned Midak would deliver a poignant win in a race named this year in honour of the late Aga Khan IV, who won the race five times.
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However, although he raced in fourth for a long way when the moment came for jockey Mickael Barzalona to move up a gear on the French runner he went into reverse and finished 10th.
They at least got their chance to run, another of the favourites Ruling Court was pulled out less than two hours before the race.
It dashed hopes of him becoming the first colt (male horse) since Nijinsky in 1970 to win the classic Triple Crown -- the oldest classic St Leger in September the final leg.
"It's very disappointing," trainer Charlie Appleby told ITV.
"Stamina was an unknown for us and we felt that what we saw in the Guineas on quick ground and the way he quickened that day, it was not going to be the ground for him today to be testing him over a mile and a half."
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Brera Holdings PLC (Nasdaq: BREA) and Toronto Blizzard Grassroots Soccer Partnership Targets Youth Sports, an Estimated $69 Billion Industry by 2030

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President and Owner, and Soccer Hall of Famer Giuseppe 'Joe' Parolini commented, 'Brera Holdings is the perfect partner to help bring new coaching philosophies to talented youth in Ontario. When I took over the ownership of the Blizzard in 1999, ensuring equal opportunities for women and girls to play and receive the same quality of training and development was very important to me. Through this partnership I believe we can identify talent, develop and create pathways to other opportunities such as Juve Stabia in Naples where I was born, Brera Strumica and Tiverjia in North Macedonia, the World Squad, and more.' Talent identification camps in metro Toronto, and European on-site experiences planned to bring Blizzard players to Brera's club academies are intended to begin in the summer of 2026 or sooner. 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'Our partnership with Toronto Blizzard will allow us to share our clubs' coaching philosophies as well as identify and help develop young talent in Toronto. We look forward to introducing this partnership to the Province of Ontario with the Blizzard, and bringing players to train at the academies of our clubs in Italy and North Macedonia, as these countries enjoy longstanding and particularly strong cross-cultural ties with the Toronto metro area,' he added. ABOUT TORONTO BLIZZARD CORP. AND BLIZZARD DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY CORP. Toronto Blizzard Corp. is a premier youth soccer organization under the continuous ownership, coaching and management of Soccer Hall of Famer Giuseppe 'Joe' Parolini since 1999. Along with its affiliated entity Blizzard Development Academy Corp. (collectively 'Toronto Blizzard'), they serve girls and boys playing soccer from age 8 to 18. Focused initially on ensuring equal opportunities for women and girls to play and receive the same quality of training and development available to boys, Blizzard is now going beyond its historical preeminence in girls soccer to also provide a clear pathway for boys to rapidly progress into the professional ranks. Noted for its competitive youth teams, talent identification clinics, and alumni match tours featuring college players developed by Blizzard competing against NCAA squads, among other innovations pioneered by Joe Parolini and his staff. Blizzard in 2022 developed a youth initiative with the record-breaking Bundesliga (Germany) champions FC Bayern Munich. In 2025 Joe Parolini was named an advisor to Nasdaq-listed Brera Holdings PLC, the first multi-club owner of soccer teams to IPO on a stock exchange. He is developing a strategic Brera-Blizzard plan to establish a comprehensive grassroots program for boys and girls in North America and beyond. The initiative intends to leverage the Blizzard Development Academy and Brera's network of pro football clubs and youth academies across three continents. ABOUT BRERA HOLDINGS PLC Brera Holdings PLC(Nasdaq: BREA) is dedicated to expanding its social impact football business by developing a global portfolio of emerging football and sports clubs. Building on the legacy of Brera FC, which it acquired in 2022, the Company aims to create opportunities for tournament prizes, sponsorships, and professional consulting services. Brera FC, recognized as "The Third Team of Milan," has been crafting an alternative football legacy since its founding in 2000. The club also organizes the FENIX Trophy, a nonprofessional pan-European tournament acknowledged by UEFA. This tournament, which has been referred to as "the Champions League for Amateurs" by BBC Sport, has garnered significant media coverage, including from ESPN. In its efforts to broaden its reach, Brera expanded into Africa in March 2023 by establishing Brera Tchumene FC in Mozambique, which quickly rose to the First Division after winning its post-season tournament. In April 2023, the Company acquired a 90% stake in the North Macedonian first-division team Fudbalski Klub Akademija Pandev, now known as Brera Strumica FC. Additionally, in June 2023, Brera made a strategic investment in Manchester United PLC, realizing a 74% gain. The Company has further diversified its portfolio by acquiring a majority stake in UYBA Volley, an Italian women's professional volleyball team, in July 2023, assuming control of Bayanzurkh Sporting Ilch FC, a Mongolian National Premier League team, which became Brera Ilch FC, in September 2023, and establishing a joint stock company for the North Macedonian women's football club Tiverija Strumica, now known as Brera Tiverija FC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brera Strumica FC, in June 2024. On December 31, 2024, Brera executed an agreement to acquire majority stake of the corporate capital of Juve Stabia srl, the company which manages the Italian Serie B football club Juve Stabia, also known as 'The Second Team of Naples'. The acquisition will be conducted in a multi-step process and marks a significant expansion of the Company's MCO model. As of February 12, 2025, Brera holds a 38.46% equity ownership interest in Juve Stabia. With a strategic emphasis on bottom-up value creation, innovation-driven growth, and socially impactful outcomes, Brera Holdings has established itself as a forward-thinking leader in the global sports industry. For more information, visit Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such statements include statements regarding the Company's ability to grow its business and other statements that are not historical facts, including statements which may be accompanied by the words "intends," "may," "will," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "projects," "predicts," "estimates," "aims," "believes," "hopes," "potential" or similar words. Actual results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including without limitation, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern, the popularity and/or competitive success of the Company's acquired football and other sports teams, the Company's ability to attract players and staff for acquired clubs, unsuccessful acquisitions or other strategic transactions, the possibility of a decline in the popularity of football or other sports, the Company's ability to expand its fanbase, sponsors and commercial partners, general economic conditions, and other risk factors detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake any responsibility to update such forward-looking statements except in accordance with applicable law. Company Contact Information: Dan McClory, Executive Chairman, Brera Holdings PLCEmail: dan@ Joe Parolini, President, Toronto Blizzard joeparolini@ Joe Parolini is the Owner and Coach of Toronto Blizzard

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