THE importance of the Group 1 Derby at Epsom to owners, trainers and breeders remains strong, even if some will point to the lack of subsequent influence in more recent times of a number of the winners. This year’s 246th running of the Betfred Derby will be run in honour of His Highness Aga Khan IV.
In the world of horseracing and breeding, the late Aga Khan was among the foremost owner-breeders of his or any other generation. He matched his grandfather’s record by owning and breeding five winners of the classic. The record-breaking 10-length victory of Shergar for the Aga Khan IV in the 1981 Derby was followed by wins for Shahrastani (1986), Kahyasi (1988), Sinndar (2000) and Harzand (2016).
Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) continues to rule supreme when it comes to being the most successful sire in the Derby. The Coolmore giant made history when siring a fifth winner of the race, Serpentine in 2020. Winner of the race himself in 2001, Galileo had previously sired New Approach, Ruler Of The World, Australia and Anthony Van Dyck.
Five stallions, most recently Montjeu (Sadler’s Wells), have sired four winners each. Galileo is also the latest Derby winner to go on to become champion sire. Before him, it was Mill Reef (Never Bend).
What of the contenders for this year’s race? Here is a profile of 11 of the principal runners, and a shorter synopsis of the remaining eight. Don’t overlook longshots! Wings Of Eagles and Serpentine won at 40/1 and 25/1, and the latter beat 50/1 and 66/1 starters. The runners-up from 2021 to 2023 went off at 50/1, 150/1 and 66/1.
Delacroix
About the only major achievement missing on the stud CV of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) is to sire the winner of the Derby. He appears to have an outstanding opportunity to rectify that omission, and it would be down to Coolmore and Ballydoyle to do so. A winner and placed on all of his starts, Delacroix’s only run to date in a Group 1 saw him beaten a nose by Hotazhell in the William Hill Futurity last autumn.
Delacroix was bred by the Tepin Syndicate, and is out of the Group and Grade 1-winning mare of the same name. Tepin, a daughter of Bernstein (Storm Cat), cost M.V. Magnier $8 million in 2017, and that huge investment would be considered money well spent if she bred them a Derby winner. Tepin won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot over a mile, and while she won five Grade 1 races in the USA and Canada, the furthest she was successful over was nine furlongs at Grade 2 level.
Tepin’s other winner is Grateful (Galileo) and she won a 12-furlong maiden at the Curragh last year before adding a Group 3 at Fairyhouse and the Group 1 Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp. The last two wins were over 14 furlongs.
Ruling Court
Should Team Coolmore not win the Derby with Delacroix, their great rivals Godolphin will hope to land the prize with a colt by Justify (Scat Daddy), Coolmore’s great Triple Crown winner who stands at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. Ruling Court, bred by Nursery Place, Manfuso and Wilhite, has improved with each of his four starts, and made headlines before he even raced.
A $150,000 yearling buy by Norman Williamson at Keeneland, he sold for a staggering €2.3 million at the Arqana breeze-up sale. Group-placed on his second start at two, he opened his three-year-old account with a listed win, before running out a fine winner of the Group 1 2000 Guineas, beating the subsequent Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas winner Field Of Gold by half a length. He will attempt to give his sire a second Derby winner, after City Of Troy last year.
The Derby connection does not stop there. Ruling Court is out of Inchargeofme, a graded stakes-placed, three-time winner by the 2002 Derby winner High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells). Inchargeofme won at up to nine furlongs.
Pride Of Arras
If Dubawi does not get his Derby winner in 2025, there is a good chance that one of his sons will do so. The best opportunity perhaps lies with Pride Of Arras (New Bay), York’s Group 2 Dante Stakes winner who is a homebred by David and Vimy Ackroyd. The last winner of the Dante to go on and win at Epsom was Desert Crown in 2022. The similarity does not end there, as both colts were lining up for the Derby on just their third outing.
Pride Of Arras is one of two starters today for Ballylinch Stud’s New Bay. He won five times from a mile to 12 furlongs, landed the 10 and a half-furlong Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby, and ran third in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe to the Derby winner Golden Horn.
On the dam side of the family, Pride Of Arras is out of another Ackroyd homebred, Parnell’s Dream (Oasis Dream), and she gained both her successes over a mile and a half. Interestingly, all three of Pride Of Arras’s winning siblings, who all stayed 10 furlongs and more, went on to win over hurdles.
The well-named Parnell’s Dream is a daughter of Kitty O’Shea (Sadler’s Wells), an unbeaten listed-winning full-sister to the Group 1 St Leger winner Brian Boru.
The Lion In Winter
The much-heralded The Lion In Winter is the more-fancied of two runners in the Derby by the 2009 winner of the classic, Sea The Stars (Cape Cross). That Gilltown Stud-based sire has already sired a winner of the race, Harzand going on to add the Irish equivalent in 2016. The Lion In Winter comes from the same female line as Ruling Court, both tracing back to Inchmurrin (Lomond).
The Lion In Winter was bred by the Tsui family’s Sunderland Holding, and sold by them as a yearling at Goffs for €375,000 to M.V. Magnier. His victory in the Group 3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes at York, with Ruling Court third, was enough to place him among the highest-rated juveniles in Europe last year. He was only sixth, behind a number of horses he will face again today, in the Group 2 Dante Stakes, and goes into today’s race as still something of an unknown.
The first foal of his dam, The Lion In Winter is out of What A Home (Lope De Vega), a dual winner over a mile and a half who was group-placed over that trip. What A Home is one of four winners from Inchmahome (Galileo), and her best runner was Venus De Milo (Duke Of Marmalade), runner-up in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and twice winner at Group 3 level over 12 furlongs.
Damysus
Yet another stallion with two Derby runners is Juddmonte’s Frankel (Galileo), and he is no stranger to siring Epsom winners. Four years ago, his son Adayar won the Derby.
If he were to win the Derby, it would be a first stakes win for Damysus, a 460,000gns yearling purchase by Wathnan Racing through Blandford Bloodstock. Winner on his only start at two, he was a length and a half behind Pride Of Arras in the Group 3 Dante Stakes on his latest outing.
Bred by Newsells Park Stud and Merry Fox Stud, Damysus is the eighth winner out of Legerete (Rahy) who was a Group 2 winner in France over a mile and a half, and Group 1-placed a couple of times. Gary Hadden bought Legerete for €250,000 at Arqana in 2019, and she comes from an exceptional female line whose current stars include Aventure (Sea The Stars), last year’s Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up.
Lambourn
Eleven years after his sire Australia (Galileo) won the Derby at Epsom, Lambourn will bid to become his sixth top-level winner. A listed winner at two in France, Lambourn chased Delacroix home in the Group 3 Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown before staking his Epsom claims with a comfortable victory over Lazy Griff in the Group 3 Boodles Chester Vase.
Bred by Coolmore, Lambourn is the first winner for Gossamer Wings (Scat Daddy), a fast two-year-old who was beaten a whisker in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes but didn’t train on. She has three stakes-winning siblings, and her full-sister Lavender Chrissie (Scat Daddy) won a stakes race at Zia Park in the USA over eight and a half furlongs. While his female line does not contain a lot of stamina, Lambourn is already a winner over the Derby trip.
Stanhope Gardens
It is already a feather in the cap of Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) that his first crop includes two runners in the Derby. The best of these is possibly Stanhope Gardens, bred by Tullpark Limited. He won a maiden at Beverley before going down by a neck to Delacroix in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes over a mile at Newmarket last year. He had no real opposition when easily winning a three-runner conditions race, also over a mile, at Salisbury recently, and is something of an unknown quantity here.
Ghaiyyath ran only once at three, but developed over the next two seasons into one of the best runners in Europe. An €82,000 Goffs foal and 210,000gns Tattersalls Book 2 yearling, Stanhope Gardens’ winning siblings were successful over 10 and 12 furlongs.
Their dam, Pure Art (Dutch Art), stayed 10 furlongs, and her half-brother, Romsdal (Halling), was second in the Group 1 St Leger, and chased home Australia and Kingston Hill in the Derby.
The third dam of Stanhope Gardens is Pure Grain (Polish Precedent), one of the best fillies of her generation when she won the Group 1 Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks, and was third at Epsom in the Group 1 Oaks.
Midak
As the Derby this year is being run in honour of the late Aga Khan IV, how apt would it be were Midak to win the race? The son of Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) was supplemented after he took his unbeaten run this year to three with a Group 3 Prix Greffulhe triumph at Saint-Cloud. He is a colt who is improving with every month and every run.
What a triumph it would be for the Castle Hyde-based sire were he to sire a Derby winner at this stage. The 2005 Group 1 2000 Guineas winner, Footstepsinthesand has seven Group 1 winners, and breeders who used him this year did so for €8,000. Midak’s three wins have been over 10 and a half or 11 furlongs. His dam Minya won twice and stayed a mile and three-quarters, and she is a daughter of the 2000 Derby winner Sinndar (Grand Lodge).
Nightwalker
Juddmonte is having a wonderful season, and pin one of their Derby hopes on a homebred son of Frankel (Galileo), Nightwalker. Third to Delacroix and Stanhope Gardens at two, he needs to step up considerably to win the Derby, but his pedigree says that such a win would not be a surprise. He is by one of the best sires in the world, and out of a three-time winner.
Nightwalker’s dam Sleep Walk (Oasis Dream) won three of her five starts, from five and half to six furlongs. If that is not seen as a positive, bear in mind that she is a half-sister to the Group 1 St Leger winner Logician, and he too is a son of Frankel. This pedigree mixes speed and stamina, and Sleep Walk is already the dam of a top-class runner in Whitebeam (Caravaggio). She won the nine-furlong Grade 1 Diana Stakes at Saratoga twice.
Tornado Alert
Four sons of Dubawi will be represented in the Derby with runners; New Bay, Ghaiyyath, Night Of Thunder and Too Darn Hot.
The latter’s representative is the Godolphin homebred Tornado Alert. He won a maiden on the all-weather at Newcastle on his second outing at two, and surprised many when fourth on his only start this year in the Group 1 2000 Guineas, behind Ruling Court.
Godolphin sold Tornado Alert’s dam, Bint Almatar (Kingmambo), at Goffs for just €48,000, and after that her son Just Fine (Sea The Stars) went on to win the 12-furlong Group 1 Metropolitan Handicap at Randwick in Australia.
A winner herself over a mile, Bint Almatar is a half-sister to the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Master Of The Seas (Dubawi), and to the dam of the multiple Australian Group 1 winner Cascadian (New Approach) who was at his best over 10 furlongs.
New Ground
A second runner in the Juddmonte colours, their homebred New Ground is also a second runner in the Derby this year for New Bay. Unbeaten on both his starts at two – he won over 10 furlongs on his debut – New Ground has finished a length behind the winner on both his outings this year, in the Group 3 Prix La Force and the Listed Prix de Suresnes.
New Ground is the first winner for Gaining, a daughter of American Post (Bering). She won a 10 and a half-furlong Group 3 at Toulouse on heavy ground before being sent to race in the USA. She didn’t manage to win there, but was runner-up in the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes at Keeneland over a mile and a half.
Gaining’s grandam Quota (Rainbow Quest) was a full-sister to the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy winner Armiger. He also won the Group 3 Chester Vase, and was second in the Group 1 St Leger.
The others
Tennessee Stud (Wootton Bassett) ended his juvenile season with victory in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud over nine furlongs. Beaten nearly seven lengths by Delacroix in the Group 3 Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, his sire is one of the hottest around, and Tennessee Stud is from a renowned family. His dam In My Dreams (Sadler’s Wells) is a half-sister to seven-time Group 1 winner Rock Of Gibraltar (Danehill). Tennessee Stud was bred by Annemarie O’Brien.
Tuscan Hills (Night Of Thunder) was bred by John Richard Wheeler and foaled in France. He was sold at Goffs through Luke Barry’s Manister House Stud for €100,000 to Hamish Macauley for Amo Racing. Unbeaten at two when he won the Listed Silver Tankard Stakes over a mile, he was down the field behind Pride Of Arras on his only start this year. His unraced dam Taqleed (Sea The Stars) is a daughter of the Group 1 Oaks winner Eswarah (Unfuwain). Her dam Midway Lady (Alleged) also won the Oaks and the Group 1 1000 Guineas.
Sea Scout (Sea The Stars) is, like The Lion In Winter, another runner bred by Sunderland Holding. He disappointed in the Group 2 Dante Stakes having shown great tenacity to land the 10-furlong Listed Blue Riband Stakes at Epsom. He is one of three winners from the unraced Wo De Xin (Shamardal), and his full-brother Al Aabir (Sea The Stars) won the Listed Winter Cup at Rosehill over a mile and a half.
Victory or a place for Al Wasl Storm would be a dream result. I remember when Carlingford Castle (Le Bavard) finished three lengths behind Teenoso in the 1983 Derby, and what a result that was for owner Frank Roe, trainer Liam Browne and jockey Michael Kinane. Al Wasl Storm, a son of Affinisea (Sea The Stars), was bred by Gavin Wallace and sold at the Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale for €7,000 to Ahmad Alshaikh. He is the first foal out of an unraced daughter of Martaline (Linamix), the leading French jumps sire. Last year. Hillhead Stables bought Al Wasl Storm’s full-brother at the same sale for €3,000.
Lazy Griff (Protectionist) was bred in Germany by Gestut Westerberg, and sold as a yearling at the BBAG Yearling Sale to Jeremy Brummit for €75,000. His sire won the Group 1 Melbourne Cup, while his Danish-bred dam Linarda (Rock Of Gibraltar) won four races in Switzerland. Lazy Griff is a full-brother to the 10-furlong Group 3 Bavarian Classic winner Lambo (Protectionist). Winner of the Group 3 Prix de Conde at two, over nine furlongs, Lazy Griff was runner-up on his only start this year to Lambourn in the Group 3 Chester Vase.
Listed-placed and a winner this year over a mile and a half, Nightime Dancer (Ghaiyyath) is yet another runner in the race out of a Sea The Stars (Cape Cross) mare. Costing 110,000gns from GCE Farms as a foal, Nightime Dancer has as his third dam Colorado Dancer (Shareef Dancer), responsible for Dubai Millennium (Seeking The Gold). He is the sire of Dubawi.
Bred by the Banimpire Syndicate, Green Storm (Circus Maximus) sold for €12,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale to Johnston Racing. He ended last season with a runner-up finish to Tennessee Stud in the 10-furlong Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. He is the first blacktype performer among the four winners for the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes winner Banimpire (Holy Roman Emperor) who sold at Goffs for €2.3 million.
Likely to start favourite to finish last, the Eric Chen-bred Rogue Impact (Study Of Man) sold for 78,000gns as a yearling. A 12-furlong maiden winner from three starts, he is out of Just So (Galileo), a half-sister to the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes winner Mukhadram (Shamardal), and from the family of last year’s classic winner Notable Speech (Dubawi).
Leo Powell’s 2025 Derby prediction
1st Pride Of Arras
2nd Delacroix
3rd Midak
4th Nightime Dancer