BENVENUTO Cellini put his stalls drama far behind him when beating the Epsom hero Christmas Day in Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, as Pierre Bonnard completed a 1-2-3 for Aidan O’Brien, Coolmore partners, Peter Brant and Westerberg.

The Curragh provided sweet vindication for Ryan Moore, who remained loyal to the impressive Chester Vase winner who was controversially declared a non-runner in the Epsom Derby after it was revealed that he had caught his hind leg up in the stalls, with the stewards declaring this had given the chesnut a disadvantageous start to the classic.

Soft ground was also unlikely to have suited Benvenuto Cellini at Epsom, so it was a relief to connections and favourite backers when the rain stayed away and provided ground officially described as good.

They all must have breathed a sigh of relief when the son of Frankel broke smartly from the widest stall, and after his rivals sorted themselves out behind Ballydoyle’s pace-setting Action, Ryan Moore brought the 7/4 favourite back to last, in order to grab the inside rail and improve into mid-division.

Rossa Ryan kept a close eye aboard the eventual winner’s nearest market rival, progressive British raider Raaheeb, while Ronan Whelan positioned Christmas Day in second, three lengths behind the leader.

The eight-horse field quickened as they approached the turn-in, where Christmas Day took over the lead and Moore switched the favourite out to challenge. Disputing two furlongs from home, it first looked like the Epsom winner might complete the Derby double until Benvenuto Cellini found another gear 110 yards out and despite hanging right, ran on well to score by a length and three quarters.

Epsom form

Christmas Day ran a gallant race in second, becoming the first horse to back up from Epsom, with the Epsom third James J Braddock struggling from some way out and eventually beaten 24 lengths. Epsom Oaks heroine Thundering On finished fourth at odds of 11/10f in the Pretty Polly Stakes the previous day, while Legacy Link, who chased her home at Epsom, disappointed at Royal Ascot.

Pierre Bonard bounced back to form, finishing a neck behind Christmas Day in third, with another six lengths back to the least experienced horse in the field, Raaheeb (11/4).

After extending his Irish Derby record to an incredible 18 wins, Aidan O’Brien commented: “We always liked him and had a very good run in Chester before Epsom, and obviously all the things seemed to conspire against him at Epsom.

“I’m delighted for Ryan because it was a very difficult decision. He went out with an open mind, his mind is very quick, and he thought that (going up the rail) was the right thing to do and so it was.

“Ryan feels that he’d rather go back to a mile and a quarter than go any further than a mile and a half. He’s always worked with that class as well, whereas we knew Christmas Day would stay further, but he wasn’t going to be easy to catch because he was ridden forward and the Epsom form always stands up here.”

On that note, John Magnier commended the runner-up’s performance, saying: “Christmas Day really ran a hell of a race.”

Magnier went on to take the opportunity to comment on the recent news that gelding are to be allowed to run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. “I hope they don’t let the geldings into the Arc. I think most of the purists would be against it,” he said.

“You can see there’s two sides to every coin, but I’m only giving it from the breeding side and from the breed as a whole. The Arc is one of the real races and it won’t be any more if you include geldings. My father-in-law (Vincent O’Brien) used to always say if he was training a yard of geldings, the bookmakers would be in trouble.”

In defence of Derbys

The Epsom Derby and staying horses have taken a bit of a beating in the press of late, mostly due to comments from John Gosden, but Ballydoyle and Coolmore’s support of both, along with the Irish Derby, has never wavered.

After watching their horses complete a 1-2-3 in Sunday’s feature, Coolmore’s MV Magnier sung the praises of the race that many consider the ultimate test of the thoroughbred.

“Those mile-and-a-half races are so important to everything; they’re important to the breed,” he reflected.

“Looking at the history of the Epsom Derby, you’ve Galileo, Sea The Stars, Australia, Camelot, New Approach – they’re all very good stallions and without them, there’d be a very big difference.

“Fair enough, you’re going to have bad winners of good races – that happens everywhere; it happens in the Kentucky Derby, it happens in the Golden Slipper. You can’t have top-class winners every year, it’s impossible.”

During a Royal Ascot preview with the Racing Post, John Gosden suggested that the Epsom Derby has suffered in recent years due to tactics that produced inferior winners, saying: “The Derby used to be won by horses who could quicken, but the pace of the modern Derby has been fairly ruthless.”

Magnier, meanwhile, highlighted the 2023 and 2024 winners as being particularly important to the future of Coolmore Stud.

“You see what City Of Troy and Auguste Rodin did, and they won a year after each other; they’re two of the best horses we’ve retired to Coolmore since Galileo.

“When Auguste Rodin won the Derby, Dad said it was the most important thing to happen to Coolmore since Galileo won it and he was correct. Being by Deep Impact and out of a Galileo mare, it meant a very big deal to us.”