WHAT is it about Epsom defeat turning into Irish Derby delight?

In the last eight years alone, five colts have picked themselves up off the Tattenham Corner canvas, dusted themselves off and made amends with victory in the Dubai Duty Free-backed feature on these shores within less than a month.

From St Jovite to Alamshar, Dylan Thomas, Soldier Of Fortune, Frozen Fire, Treasure Beach, Fame And Glory, Jack Hobbs, Capri, long-priced shocker Sovereign, Hurricane Lane and, most recently, Westover, there is more than enough evidence to suggest it can be done for those bidding to bounce back at Irish flat racing headquarters.

For Jessica Harrington, it has already been a year full of bouncing back too.

When a breast cancer diagnosis darkened her door at the age of 75 last October, she responded with all the determination, unwavering spirit and strength that you could only ever expect from a genuinely legendary horsewoman whose place in the history books was cemented long ago.

There is only one Jessica Harrington, and boy is there is an almighty pep in her step as she observes and directs equine traffic at her Commonstown base ahead of a huge tilt at the €1.25 million Irish Derby (3.40) tomorrow.

By his nature, Sprewell might be the type of horse who flies under the radar at home on the gallops, but Harrington couldn’t be happier with his well being ahead of the Curragh target. There were positives to take from his fine fourth in the world-famous classic at Epsom last month when encountering traffic problems.

“He came out of Epsom very well and we’ve slowly built him up,” says Harrington.

“As you can see, he’s a very laid-back character so it’s quite easy. I’m very happy with his preparation. He’s got a great attitude, which really does help.

Epsom experience

“He handled the quicker ground great at Epsom. Everyone said he was only a soft-ground horse. It wasn’t the fact that I wanted to run him on soft ground, it just happened that the races came up when conditions were like that. I’m hoping the Curragh might suit him better too, you never know. It looks like it’s going to be lovely ground with no extremes in any direction.”

On the Churchill colt’s Epsom effort, Harrington adds: “He was unlucky in the Derby. He was in the right position at the right time and three fancied horses in front of him all stopped dead for various reasons. That meant he just got brought back.

“He had nowhere to go and was checked, but there are always bad-luck stories at Epsom - you’ve got to get over it and get on with the next race.”

Harrington’s lack of enthusiasm to dwell on the past also applies to how she views the past eight or so months when it comes to her own health.

“I’m only ever looking forward - don’t look back,” she says.

“Keep looking to what you are going to do. It’s very easy to look back and get negative so you want to keep looking forward.

Top form

“We’ve got through it all now and I’m feeling great, really good. I think I’m nearly back to normal because I’ve got my energy back and I really feel great. And I’m lucky I got through it all. That’s the main thing.

“I hoped that if I talked about it when I did, other people wouldn’t. Instead of brushing it under the carpet, going about your treatment and everything with the head down, my attitude was to have it out there.”

Whatever about the trainer feeling in top form, her runners appear to be in similarly excellent shape ahead of one of the biggest weekends in the Irish flat racing calendar.

A total of 12 flat winners on home soil so far in June is one better than her smart haul of 11 for April. Those returns are among the top dozen months Harrington has ever recorded in her career in terms of domestic flat winners.

On the other side of the Irish Sea, Villanova Queen kept the ball rolling at Royal Ascot last week when popping up at 25/1 in the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap, providing Colin Keane with his first success at the Royal Meeting.

Harrington had been racing a day earlier at the Berkshire spectacular when her £1.1 million juvenile Givemethebeatboys finished a respectable fourth in the Coventry Stakes, and she intently watched Villanova Queen’s victory from the home of her great friend Nicky Henderson at Seven Barrows.

Royal delight

“Villanova was brilliant and did what I thought she could,” says the now four-time Royal Ascot-winning trainer, who is setting her sights on a blacktype win with last week’s heroine.

“Nicky was racing so I watched it with [leading bloodstock agent] David Minton. It was great company. And I shouted at the television. You could’ve heard me in Lambourn!

“Apparently you could hear all the lads in the yard watching it in their canteen. They were all shouting too, as our Ascot horses stay in Seven Barrows. Nicky’s secretary came in and said, ‘I knew something must have happened because I’ve never heard such a noise in the yard.’ They were supporting the Irish, which was great.”

Missing from the Royal Ascot success was stable jockey Shane Foley, sidelined at a particularly unfortunate time due to a collarbone injury suffered in a fall at Gowran Park on June 5th.

Harrington is delighted to have him back in the plate just in time for Sprewell’s Curragh assignment, with the top rider having got the all-clear to return this weekend from orthopaedic surgeon Paddy Kenny on Tuesday morning.

“Shane has been riding brilliantly and it has really helped him having his hip replaced over the winter,” she says.

“He’s no longer in pain from there and I think it’s made all the difference to him. He’s very strong too. Because he was laid up with the hip, he did a lot of preparation; cold-water swimming - crazy things - and going into the River Barrow every few days in February and March. He’s done a lot of swimming and gym work, and it’s obviously stood to him.”

Rodin challenge

The betting suggests Foley will have to be at the peak of his powers to reverse Epsom form with hot favourite Auguste Rodin, and Harrington has the height of respect for Ballydoyle’s standard setter too.

“Auguste Rodin is going to be very difficult to beat; he’s proved himself to be an exceptional horse to come back from what was really a disaster in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket,” she concedes.

“It was a great training feat to get him back and to win so easily as he did at Epsom. He’s got to go out and do it again but I’m presuming he’ll be in good order and he has beaten us before. You’re always hoping, though. You don’t go into those races thinking, ‘I’ll be grand being second.’ No. I’ll be grand if I can win!”

Harrington insists that an array of big-race success over the last number of decades in no way blunts her hunger. In fact, she is adamant there is much more in the world of racing that she’s eager to achieve.

“What motivates me? It’s me, I’m just like that. I suppose I like succeeding, I like winning and I like doing well.” she explains.

“I like to get better at what I’m doing - that’s what I really like. Having had the cancer, I’m probably more focussed now on wanting to do things. I suppose in a way, it did sort of show the fact that you could get ill and then the question was, am I going to beat this? That makes you want more because that keeps you going.”

A win in this weekend’s feature would also make her the first woman to train an Irish Derby winner.

“There’s an awful lot of things left to do on that list, don’t worry,” she says.

“The Irish Derby is one of them, definitely, that’s on the bucket list, as it were. There are loads of international races I want to win and I’d like to win more races in Ireland. You’d always like to win more.”

The majority of those heading to the Irish Derby this weekend may be travelling in the hope of seeing a superstar performance from Auguste Rodin, but success for Sprewell might just top the lot as far as popular winners go.

Now that would be an appropriate way to salute one of racing’s great inspirational figures.