2017 Epsom Derby

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2017 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
LocationEpsom Downs Racecourse
Date3 June 2017
Winning horseWings of Eagles
Starting price40/1
JockeyPadraig Beggy
TrainerAidan O'Brien
OwnerDerrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier
ConditionsGood
← 2016
2018 →
Epsom Derby 2017
1-2-3
Purple, white seams, striped sleeves, pink cap Dark blue Black and white halved, sleeves reversed, red cap
Wings of Eagles Cliffs of Moher Cracksman

The 2017 Epsom Derby was the 238th annual running of the Derby horse race and took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 3 June 2017. It was televised on ITV for the first time since 1988. The race was worth £1.5million, an increase on the 2016 prize, and was sponsored by Investec.[1] The race saw the biggest Derby upset for 43 years as Wings of Eagles won at odds of 40/1. His win was the seventh in the race for his owners and the sixth for his trainer Aidan O'Brien. By contrast, it was a first ride in the race for the winning jockey Padraig Beggy, a work-rider at O'Brien's Ballydoyle stable.

Entries[edit]

The initial entry for the 2017 Epsom Derby, announced in December 2015, consisted of 416 yearlings. The number of entries was a decrease of 59 on the initial entry for the 2016 race, and included 54 horses from the Godolphin Racing organisation and 59 from the Coolmore Stud.[2] Another 10 horses were added at the second entry stage in April 2017 at a cost of £9,000 per entry. The second entries included Thunder Snow, winner of the 2017 UAE Derby; he was subsequently routed to the US to contest the 2017 Kentucky Derby. A further entry stage took place on 29 May 2017,[3] and saw two horses, Permian and Khalidi added to the line-up after their owners each paid supplementary fees of £85,000.[4] The two-day declarations on 1 June saw the withdrawal of the outsider Finn McCool leaving a field of nineteen horses.

The most controversial entry was Diore Lia, a filly who had shown no racing ability in two starts and who was scheduled to be ridden by the inexperienced apprentice jockey Gina Mangan. After safety concerns were raised the BHA allowed the horse to take part but insisted that Mangan be replaced by a more qualified rider.[5] The filly was withdrawn on the morning of the race after sustaining a muscle injury. Later, the owner of Diore Lia were banned from horse racing actives, British Horseracing Authority also banned horses rated below 80 in group 1 races except for two years old only races. [6]

Trial races[edit]

Ireland staged the first notable trial for the 2017 English Derby when the Ballysax Stakes was run at Leopardstown Racecourse on 8 April and produced a considerable upset as Joseph O'Brien sent out Rekindling to win at odds of 16/1. Douglas Macarthur, Yucatan and Capri, the next three finishers, were all trained by O'Brien's father Aidan and represented the powerful Coolmore organisation.[7] The first significant British trial races took place at the Craven meeting at Newmarket Racecourse in April. The Listed Feilden Stakes over nine furlongs on Tuesday 18 saw the John Gosden trained Khalidi prevail by a neck over the betting favourite Salouen.[8] In the Group 3 Craven Stakes (primarily a trial for the 2000 Guineas) over one mile two days later Eminent (from the first crop of foals sired by Frankel) scored an upset victory over Rivet with Godolphins Benbatl in third place.[9] In the following week Epsom Racecourse staged the ten-furlong Investec Derby Trial, and in a very tight finish, Cracksman, from the Gosden stable, caught the Mark Johnston-trained Permian in the final stride to win by a short head.[10]

The 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on 6 May was won by Churchill with Eminent in sixth place. Churchill had been the winter favourite for the Derby but his connections opted not to follow the Epsom route, deciding to keep the horse to shorter distances. On the same day Permian won the ten furlong Newmarket Stakes, beating Speedo Boy by four and a half lengths with the favoured Khalidi in third place.[11] On the following day Leopardstown staged the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial which resulted in a clean sweep for the Aidan O'Brien stable as Douglas Macarthur won in a three-way photo-phinish from his stablemates Yucatan and Capri.[12] At Chester Racecourse the following week the O'Brien domination continued with a 1-2-3 in the Chester Vase as Venice Beach won from Wings of Eagles and The Anvil.[13] Two days later at the same meeting O'Brien sent out Cliffs of Moher to win the Dee Stakes at odds of 4/5.[14] The Lingfield Derby Trial on the 13 May saw a victory for Godolphin as Best Solution, who had spent the early part of 2017 in Dubai, won by three and a quarter lengths from Glencadam Glory.[15] The Dante Stakes at York Racecourse on 18 May attracted its usual strong field and saw Permian win from Benbatl, Crystal Ocean (a highly regarded colt from the Michael Stoute yard) and Rekindling.[16] The last major trial was the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes over eleven furlongs at Goodwood Racecourse on 26 May which resulted in a five length win for Khalidi.[17]

Race card[edit]

The final field of eighteen saw seven Irish-trained challengers matched against eleven British-trained colts. Fourteen of the runners were supplied by three major stables: Aidan O'Brien (six runners), John Gosden (five) and Saeed bin Suroor (three). The only female jockey was Anastasia "Ana" O'Brien who became the third woman to ride in the race after Alex Greaves and Hayley Turner.[18]

No Draw Horse Weight (st–lb) Jockey Trainer Owner
1 16 Benbatl 9–0 Oisin Murphy Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin
2 8 Best Solution (IRE) 9–0 Pat Cosgrave Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin
3 10 Capri (IRE) 9–0 Seamie Heffernan Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier
4 13 Cliffs of Moher (IRE) 9–0 Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier
5 7 Cracksman 9–0 Frankie Dettori John Gosden Anthony Oppenheimer
6 12 Crowned Eagle 9–0 Andrea Atzeni John Gosden Lady Bamford
7 19 Douglas Macarthur (IRE) 9–0 Colm O'Donoghue Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Jooste, Tabor, Smith, Magnier
8 1 Dubai Thunder 9–0 Adam Kirby Saeed bin Suroor Godolphin
9 4 Eminent (IRE) 9–0 Jim Crowley Martyn Meade Peter Vela
10 18 Glencadam Glory 9–0 James Doyle John Gosden Angus Dundee Distillers
11 6 Khalidi 9–0 Pat Smullen John Gosden Nizar Anwar
12 5 Pealer (GER) 9–0 Silvestre de Sousa John Gosden Capon, Lloyd Webber, Hood
13 3 Permian (IRE) 9–0 William Buick Mark Johnston Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
14 15 Rekindling 9–0 Wayne Lordan Joseph O'Brien (IRE) Lloyd Williams
15 11 Salouen (IRE) 9–0 Fran Berry Sylvester Kirk H Balasuriya
16 2 The Anvil (IRE) 9–0 Ana O'Brien Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier, O'Brien
17 9 Venice Beach (IRE) 9–0 Donnacha O'Brien Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier, Flaxman
18 14 Wings of Eagles (FR) 9–0 Padraig Beggy Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier

Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Diore Lia was number 19 on the card, drawn 17, but was a non-runner.

Race[edit]

The race took place in fine, sunny weather on a surface officially described as "good". On the morning of the race Cracksman and Cliffs of Moher were disputing favouritism but by race time Cracksman headed the betting on 7/2 with Cliffs of Moher on 5/1 alongside Eminent. The best-supported of the other runners were Permian (8/1) and the inexperienced Dubai Thunder (9/1). When the race began, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Douglas Macarthur went to the front ahead of his stablemate The Anvil, and the pair quickly opened up a lead of several lengths over the rest of the field. As the field turned into the straight, Douglas Macarthur still led from The Anvil, Venice Beach, Best Solution and Cracksman, whilst Cliffs of Moher, Eminent and the 40/1 outsider Wings of Eagles were towards the rear. The Anvil and Venice Beach dropped back but Douglas Macarthur maintained his gallop and briefly went clear of the field before being overtaken by Cracksman approaching the final furlong.[19] The favourite was soon challenged as both Cliffs of Moher and Eminent made strong late challenges and Wings of Eagles made rapid progress from the rear. Cliffs of Moher headed Cracksman in the closing stages but was in turn overtaken by Wings of Eagles who won by three-quarters of a length. Cracksman held on for third ahead of Eminent with a gap of three and a half lengths back to Benbatl in fifth.[20] Wings of Eagles was the longest-priced winner of the race since Snow Knight triumphed at 50/1 in 1974.[21]

Full result[edit]

Dist * Horse Jockey Trainer SP
1 Wings of Eagles Padraig Beggy Aidan O'Brien 40/1
2 ¾ Cliffs of Moher Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien 5/1
3 nk Cracksman Frankie Dettori John Gosden 7/2 fav
4 ¾ Eminent Jim Crowley Martyn Meade 5/1
5 1¾ Benbatl Oisin Murphy Saeed bin Suroor 20/1
6 nk Capri Seamie Heffernan Aidan O'Brien 16/1
7 1 Douglas Macarthur Colm O'Donoghue Aidan O'Brien 25/1
8 1¾ Best Solution Pat Cosgrave Saeed bin Suroor 12/1
9 1¼ Glencadam Glory James Doyle John Gosden 33/1
10 nk Permian William Buick Mark Johnston 8/1
11 nk Dubai Thunder Adam Kirby Saeed bin Suroor 9/1
12 2½ Venice Beach Donnacha O'Brien Aidan O'Brien 12/1
13 ½ Salouen Fran Berry Sylvester Kirk 33/1
14 2¼ Khalidi Pat Smullen John Gosden 20/1
15 2¼ Crowned Eagle Andrea Atzeni John Gosden 33/1
16 2¼ Rekindling Wayne Lordan Joseph O'Brien 25/1
17 5 The Anvil Ana O'Brien Aidan O'Brien 66/1
18 10 Pealer Silvestre de Sousa John Gosden 100/1

* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter; nse = nose; hd = head.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Form analysis[edit]

Two-year-old races[edit]

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2016

Road to Epsom[edit]

Early-season appearances in 2017 and trial races prior to running in the Derby:

Subsequent Group 1 wins[edit]

Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby:

References[edit]

  1. ^ Riley, Stuart. "Derby prize-money increased to £1.5m". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  2. ^ "416 Yearling Entries for 2017 Epsom Derby". Blood-Horse. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Thunder Snow added to Derby at second entry stage". Sky Sports. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Epsom Derby 2017: £1.625m purse for the Classic". BBC Sport. 29 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Epsom Derby: Paddy Pilley to ride outsider Diore Lia after Gina Mangan barred". BBC Sport. 1 June 2017.
  6. ^ Minimum ratings for Group and Grade 1 races introduced
  7. ^ "Ballysax Stakes result". Racing Post. 8 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Feilden Stakes result". Racing Post. 18 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Craven Stakes". Racing Post. 20 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Investec Derby Trial Result". Racing Post. 26 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Newmarket Stakes result". Racing Post. 6 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial result". Racing Post. 7 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Chester Stakes result". Racing Post. 11 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Dee Stakes". Racing Post. 12 May 2017.
  15. ^ "Lingfield Derby Trial result". Racing Post. 13 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Dante Stakes result". Racing Post. 18 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Cocked Hat Stakes result". Racing Post. 26 May 2017.
  18. ^ Wood, Greg (1 June 2017). "Aidan O'Brien's daughter becomes only third woman to contest the Derby". The Guardian.
  19. ^ "Epsom Derby 2017: Wings of Eagles beats favourites Cliffs of Moher and Cracksman". BBC Sport. 3 June 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  20. ^ "Epsom Derby result". Racing Post. 3 June 2017.
  21. ^ Wood, Greg (3 June 2017). "Wings Of Eagles stuns rivals to win the Derby as 40-1 outsider". The Guardian.
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