Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Group 1)

THE Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby weekend belonged to Aidan O’Brien. He saddled the first three home in the big race and a couple of two-year-old winners whose impressive performances propelled them to the head of the Derby, 1000 Guineas and Oaks markets.

The Irish Derby provided the best time performance of the meeting and one of the best performances of the season.

What happened at the start at Epsom did not stop Benvenuto Cellini winning the Derby at Epsom. The overriding reason was the extreme ground that he had to race on which was ‘Heavy’ by the time the Derby was run and such conditions never help big, long-striding horses with a low cadence such as Benvenuto Cellini. Conditions at the Curragh last Sunday were much more to his liking.

The official going description at the Curragh on Sunday was ‘Good’, but the times on the day suggested it was quicker, particularly on the round course, as evidenced by a comparison of the final times with the Race IQ par numbers and the time index values produced.

Alpha: 1m 23.91s (-2.93s vs Par) Index: 8.8

Genesis: 59.94s ( -1.01s vs Par) Index: 7.4

Big Gossey: 1m 11.28s (- 0.79s vs Par) Index 6.6

Pierre Royale: 1m35.49s (-3.41s vs Par) Index 9.3

Purview: 2m 3.28s (- 3.74s vs Par) Index 9.2

Zodiac Bear: 1m 38.88s (+0.00s vs Par) Index 5.6

Benvenuto Cellini: 2m 28.33s (-4.11s vs Par) Index 9.1

King Of Earth: 1m51.65s (-1.16s vs Par) Index 7.0

In My Teens: 2m 30.14s (- 3.88s vs Par) Index 7.9

The meeting average index came in at 7.9 out of 10 and that would have been higher but for the steadily-run sixth race run by Zodiac Bear. It is worth bearing in mind that if the ground had been ‘Good’ the average time index expectation would be around 5.5. A score of 7.9 suggests faster conditions.

The Irish Derby was very strongly run with Action ridden aggressively through the first seven furlongs. Five of those furlongs are rated as faster than the Race IQ par, ensuring that this became a proper test of stamina.

Benvenuto Cellini was settled in fifth place and after seven furlongs was 0.92s (five and a half lengths) behind the leader. From this point on, Ryan Moore was keen to get closer to the leaders and by the time they reached the three-furlong pole, was just 0.14s (three-quarters of a length) off the lead which belonged to Christmas Day.

Fastest furlong

Benvenuto Cellini reserved his fastest furlong of the race for the penultimate one where a split of 11.33s (par) took him to the front and he backed that up with a par final furlong of 12.30s (par).

Pierre Bonnard (third) was the only other horse in the race able to hit par in the final furlong. It is interesting that every other horse in the race bar the winner produced their fastest split through the second furlong, their early exertions causing them to be unable to finish the race strongly, but it is testament to Benvenuto Cellini’s ability that he also produced a faster than par second furlong (11.56s) but still managed to find a faster furlong late in the contest.

The winner once again displayed his suitability for fast ground in the way he moved. His maximum stride length in the race was 8.17 metres with no other horse getting anywhere near the 8.0 metre mark and he had the lowest cadence in the race of 2.15 strides per second.

The way he moves is a very strong indicator of his need to race on fast ground to give of his best. On fast ground at Ascot in the King George, he will be a big player against Calandagan and others, a race for which he is trading at 11/2.

Christmas Day deserves plenty of credit for sitting close to the very strong pace and rallying when headed by the winner and Pierre Bonnard seems to be getting better with every run this season.

He stayed on strongly to the line producing the fastest final split in the race (12.28s) which was marginally faster than the winner. Pierre Bonnard strikes me as being the ideal type for the St Leger where some cut in the ground will suit him. He is currently available at 8/1.

ON his second start, Giant Sequoia was not extended to win and produced some impressive data in so doing.

The first two furlongs were steadily run. Thereafter the pace was honest and Giant Sequoia, who raced in second place, showed an impressive turn of foot to win as he liked.

Three of his final four furlongs were faster than the Race IQ par giving him a finishing speed percentage (FSP) of 106.49% with par being 103.22%. This finishing effort saw him quicken sharply through furlong four (11.67s), five (11.48s) and six (11.28s) before producing a final furlong of 12.06s which was faster than par.

This sustained speed was achieved without being put under maximum pressure and there is an even more impressive display in his locker when he meets better company later this season.

Giant Sequoia is bred to be a stayer. He is by Frankel out of a Camelot mare who was placed in the Oaks and Irish Oaks.

Given the fast splits that he showed at the Curragh last Saturday, he looks as if he could be a live Derby contender next season, being bred for the trip and possessing plenty of speed as well. He is currently 16/1 for that race.

THIS was the most impressive two-year-old win over the three days of the meeting. Alpha had been beaten at Leopardstown on her debut but took a massive step forward here to win by six lengths. Alpha made all the running and to a degree got an easy lead, but in so doing so she looked very green and it was not until the final quarter mile that she realised what was required of her and her response was electric.

She quickened two furlongs out with a 10.96s (faster than par) furlong and followed that up with 11.59s (faster than par) final split. She was the only horse in the race to run a furlong under 11.00s, the only horse to run the final furlong under 12.00s and the only horse able to hit a top speed in the race above 41mph. This speed is allied to a huge maximum stride length of 8.25 metres and a top-class pedigree, being by Sea The Stars out of the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Alpha Centauri. She is surely a Group 1-winning filly in waiting.

The speed that she showed at the Curragh would suggest that she could be a 1000 Guineas filly and she sits at the head of the market for that race and the Oaks. The Oaks trip would not be out of reach given she is by Sea The Stars, but the speed she showed on this occasion and the dam’s side of her pedigree may mean that connections will opt for a Guineas campaign before looking to step her up in trip.