HARZAND completed the English-Irish Derby double when taking the Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Classic at the Curragh. Dermot Weld's charge came out on top after a prolonged battle with his old rival Idaho - third at Epsom - from the Aidan O'Brien stable.

The leading pair pulled clear at the business end of the race, with Harzand, the 4-6 favourite, asserting close home in the hands of Pat Smullen. Stellar Mass was third, with Ed Dunlop's British raider Red Verdon just behind in fourth after putting in good late work.

Smullen said: "He's such a great horse, he's got such courage and determination. Ryan (Moore, on Idaho) came with one good determined run, I needed this horse to dig deep for me and he did - how good is he? This matches Epsom, in front of our home crowd. The pressure was on and we pulled it off."

Smullen went on: "He's a dual Derby winner now. He's so courageous. You can give horses good rides, bad rides - but when they're as good as this lad and they're as determined as this horse it just makes it easy. There's no knowing where this horse will end up.

"He's so tough and he's not just tough, he's got pace. He's a very, very good horse and I'd love to think he'd be an Arc horse."

Weld said: "I knew Aidan would have his horse better than at Epsom so I knew our horse had to be better than at Epsom to win again. He ran a magnificent race. He showed the speed that he has today. People were saying he didn't have speed, well you saw it today.

"Those two horses really picked up and quickened. Idaho is a high-class horse, he's always been that and he was at his best today. It was a great day, a great ride - a special day. It was a proper horse race. He'll have a good break now and we'll train him for the Arc."

The son of Sea The Stars remained unchanged with RaceBets at 6-1 second-favourite for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, behind 5-1 market leader Postponed. Coral cut Weld's star to 5-1 (from 7-1) for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, for which Postponed is the even-money favourite.

RAILWAY STAKES

Medicine Jack put up a game display to outpoint Peace Envoy in the Gain Railway Stakes.

The leading pair were separated across the track but though Peace Envoy had the rail, Medicine Jack galloped on resolutely in the centre of the course to come out on top.

The early pace was set by Mirdif but there were plenty in with chances in the final quarter-mile. Peace Envoy looked to hold a narrow lead under Ryan Moore in a bid to give trainer Aidan O'Brien a 13th success in Group 2 contest.

However, the Ger Lyons-trained Medicine Jack (6-1) found more for Colin Keane and got the verdict by half a length. Dream Of Dreams, trained in North Yorkshire, by Kevin Ryan, was a length and a half away with third.

It was a welcome change of fortune for Keane, who was involved in a nasty-looking incident earlier on the card when his mount Elusive Heights was brought down.

OLDER HORSES

Sruthan (10-1) denied Sovereign Debt back-to-back victories in the Dubai Duty Free Millenium Millionaire Celebration Stakes when getting up in the closing stages to snatch the Listed spoils.

Victory looked to be in Sovereign Debt's grasp when Chris Hayes sent the Dandy Nicholls-trained seven-year-old into the lead two furlongs out, after Lily's Rainbow and Brendan Brackan had set the pace.

However, Colm O'Donoghue conjured a late run out of Paul Deegan's six-year-old to lead 50 yards from home and win by three-quarters of a length. Hint Of A Tint was another neck away.

"That's great. Good horses change seasons," said Deegan. "Colm was brilliant on him. He said the longer he sat on him he was able to fill him up and the better he felt. He said he really wanted it today.

"I thought he was beat to be honest and nearly turned around and walked away a furlong and a half out thinking 'he should have won'. The cheekpieces helped as he's getting cute in his old age. He might get another run before Champions Weekend where we'll aim for the Boomerang Stakes again. It depends where we get a bit of ease."

READ THE FULL RACE REPORTS AND ANALYSIS FROM ALL THREE DAYS OF THE DUBAI DUTY FREE IRISH DERBY FESTIVAL IN NEXT WEEK'S IRISH FIELD