HURRICANE Lane (121) finished with a whirlwind late challenge to deny the enterprisingly ridden Lone Eagle (121) as British-trained runners dominated the finish of a thrilling Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
There were many similarities with the York performance that saw the son of Frankel win the Dante Stakes as once he engaged top gear there was a relentlessness his pursued rival would find hard to resist.
It was nearly a masterful ride by Frankie Dettori who assumed the perfect position on the Martyn Meade-trained Lone Eagle as the Italian maestro ignored the front-running Matchless in controlling the pace to suit his mount, taking a breather between the four- and three-furlong marker before kicking for home.
The figures were evidence the pace had slackened with the sectional time for the ninth furlong registering a pedestrian 14.05 seconds.
On the other hand, William Buick was not so ideally placed, but had the assistance of a colt who was at the top of his game.
Closing sectionals
Post-race, Buick expressed the view he thought he was always getting there as his mount, like at York, maintained his finishing effort with closing sectionals for the last three furlongs of 12.18, 11.23 and 12.09 (total 35.55 seconds) that saw the combination sweep past in the shadows of the post.
In his interview afterwards, trainer Charlie Appleby was keen to take the St Leger route with the winner, but his jockey was keen to point out that the [Epsom] Derby third was not short of speed.
The clock backs up the winning jockey’s thoughts and time may well prove the contours of Epsom were more of his undoing than ability. This performance would support the view that a rematch with his Epsom conqueror on a more conventional track could well see a reversal in form.
Lone Eagle has progressed since his Sandown seasonal debut and, although suited by the run of the race, this was a high-class performance. The son of Galileo boasts stamina in abundance and a turn of foot to match as his closing sectional of 36.09 seconds portrays how he initially established a break on the field.
Martyn Meade has also suggested the St Leger as a possible target but, should he take in the Gordon Stakes at the Qatar Goodwood Festival along the way, his progressive colt would rate a betting opportunity given he boasts a perfect record at the West Sussex track.
Staying Wordsworth
Wordsworth (109) continues to look extremely hard work for his jockey at this trip, again giving the impression he is staying horse of the future. Aidan O’Brien’s colt finished off in a respectable 36.89 seconds to be clear third best.
Of the remainder, the performance of Earlswood (108) can be upgraded slightly as he had to pick himself up off the floor having been knocked over passing the two-furlong marker.
To a slightly lesser degree a similar comment can also apply to Mojo Star (108), while this will surely be the last time Mac Swiney (106) is asked to race over the mile-and-a-half trip and fast ground.
Jim Bolger’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner looked like playing a hand in the finish passing the two-furlong pole only to fade badly. I am also of the opinion that soft ground is essential for the son of New Approach.
Bears’ success
It might have been a rough passage in the Irish Derby for Rossa Ryan, but it was the opposite for the David Loughnane-trained Go Bears Go (110) in the Group 2 Gain Railway Stakes as the partnership added to the British group-race haul with a cosy success.
Having been an unfortunate second in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, this represented handsome compensation for his connections and opens the door to contest the best two-year-old races of the summer on both sides of the Irish Sea.
On a day when it was difficult to locate the three-furlong marker on the straight track, the son of Kodi Bear posted a closing time from the intersection of the courses of 35.93 seconds which could not be matched by either Sindhia (90) 36.01 seconds or Sirjack Thomas (85) 36.56 seconds.
Star upgrade
The performances of both Castle Star (108) and Twilight Jet (104) are worthy of upgrade as they both confirmed the good form of the Marble Hill Stakes that they contested at this venue in May.
Castle Star dwelt as the stalls opened and, as a result, Chris Hayes found himself last after a furlong. Making ground steadily initially, the son of Starspangledbanner finished best of all from the intersection posting 35.66 seconds.
The run is even more meritorious given his trainer Fozzy Stack is not enjoying the best of runs at present so there could be more to come from the two-time winner.
Twilight Jet had the misfortune of being drawn in an outside stall which cost him ground early that he could not recover. In finishing off in 36.01 seconds he passed all but the first four home having been last passing the furlong marker.
The overall race times clocked by Cadillac (110) and Fourhometwo (110) were similar when adjusted for distance and, as the closing sectionals were also good when compared to Hurricane Lane, both events are worth reviewing.
Improving Cadillac
Cadillac was a narrow winner of the Group 3 ARM Holding International Stakes from the fast-finishing Dawn Patrol (110) who had explored more than a few gaps before challenging on debut for Joseph O’Brien.
The winner was returning after an absence of 232 days so improvement can be expected from Jessica Harrington’s colt who has already been successful at Group 2 level as a two-year-old. The son of Lope De Vega finished off in 35.82 seconds from the three-furlong marker so would not have finished that far adrift of the Derby winner.
Dawn Patrol bettered the winner’s closing effort, coming home in 35.74 seconds. The seasonal debut will not be lost on the Joseph O’Brien-trained gelding, and this should prove the ideal stepping stone to a successful summer and a potential tilt at the Melbourne Cup that has proved attractive to his connections in the past.
Fourhometwo stepped forward from his second to Magnanimous and confirmed form with Sinawann (106) from the Leopardstown Glencairn Stakes. The Johnny Murtagh-trained gelding ran the final three furlongs in 34.75 seconds, which represented the fastest finishing sectional of the day.
The two to make note of from behind the winner were State Of Rest (110) who had to manoeuvre for racing room before finishing off in 34.91 seconds and Saltonstall (106) who ran better than his starting price suggested and could be one to consider at Galway where the son of Pivotal has twice been successful in the past.