Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Group 1)

IN a year of strange and unusual upheaval it was a race that contained any number of imponderables and permutations but the one constant in the Irish Derby is Aidan O’Brien and the master of Ballydoyle produced another tour de force in the country’s premier classic as Santiago rewarded the bold decision to turn him out so quickly after Ascot.

Not since Desert King in 1997 has a horse emerged from the royal meeting to win the Irish Derby and Santiago had a decidedly unorthodox preparation.

This year the usual trials were dispensed with as racing in Ireland getting underway a mere 19 days before this race.

For Santiago this meant that his only race subsequent to his maiden win at Listowel last September came in the Queen’s Vase which he won with more than a touch of authority. The drop back in trip by a couple of furlongs didn’t look a major concern but what could have been a worry was Santiago’s quick return to the fray.

The 2/1 favourite had no shortage of courage and heart to go with his quality and on board he had the ice cool Seamie Heffernan who, at 47, is riding better than ever. This year made it 26 rides in succession for Heffernan in this coveted prize and he drew upon all his experience and guile to ride a superbly judged race which wasn’t too easy given how the day had transpired.

Patiently ridden

Over the course of the evening there was no doubt that the place to be was up with the pace, but Heffernan would not be drawn into that trap and was mindful that his mount is best with when ridden patiently.

As a result, Santiago found himself looking on from midfield in the largest Irish Derby field since 1977 but he crept a little closer turning in.

At the entrance to the straight, the winning combination still had plenty on, but an inviting opening appeared among the leading group approaching the last quarter of a mile and Santiago took full advantage. He came between horses to lead well over a furlong out and wasted no time moving on.

His stablemate and the recent Leopardstown maiden winner Tiger Moth, whose rider Emmet McNamara picked up a two-day whip ban, laid down a strong challenge but Santiago always seemed to be doing enough to keep him at bay and he reached the line with a head to spare.

The maiden Dawn Patrol finished five lengths back in third, on his third start, with Order Of Australia taking fourth to make it a Ballydoyle clean sweep.

“Santiago is a lovely straightforward horse who likes to take his time in his races and he got a lovely ride from Seamie. The second and third are lovely horses who are just babies and in a month’s time we will see them progress again,” said O’Brien.

“After Ascot we thought that Santiago could be a St Leger horse and that would look a lovely race for him so maybe we will now give him a break ahead of that, but we’ll see what the lads would like to do.

“Next year I think he could be a lovely horse for the Cup races, but he’s got a lot of class too.”

Tough horse

Heffernan, after notching up his fourth win in the race, commented: “He’s a tough horse. I would have liked a better draw and a cleaner slot but the race worked out well. I took a gamble and dropped in – he is a horse that likes to go forward and there was no point being trapped ride.

“I always wanted to switch him off and ride him for luck. When I put him in gear he picked up.

“At home been showing plenty at home and he shows a lot of guts. If you have guts it counts for a lot.”