Plenty to be learned from Derby despite Stars’ absence
You know, it was the perfect summing up of a race which simply fell flat, leaving the admittedly impressive Fame And Glory to come home in his own time, against what had to be regarded as second-rate opposition.
It was, of course, hugely disappointing Sea The Stars failed to meet the engagement and there were those who weren’t slow to voice their opinions, essentially that the ground was a lame enough excuse.
After all, Sea The Stars had shown last season that testing conditions, it was officially good to yielding on Sunday, held no fears for him.
For instance, he won his maiden on heavy ground, and with some authority as well, at Leopardstown in August.
And he rounded off his juvenile career when taking the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh in September, on a yielding surface.
But John Oxx didn’t get where he is today by making too many mistakes and when he says Sea The Stars wants fast ground to be seen at his best then we must respect that.
His decision to swerve the Derby with Sea The Stars, however, was a disaster for the race and there was really no saving it.
We did, however, learn plenty. I will admit to being less than a fan of Fame And Glory, ever since he swished his tail when winning the Derrinstown at Leopardstown by five lengths.
But that’s an opinion which has to be rapidly revised. You would be hard pressed to find fault with what he did on Sunday.
Moderate rivals or not, this was a true-run contest and he went to the line with what appeared to be any amount under the bonnet.
Mind you, his performance only told us what we, basically, already knew. In the Derrinstown, he gave Mourayan 3lbs and a five lengths beating.
In the Derby, at levels with Mourayan, he beat that horse by six lengths. But there was a style and a swagger about this which was impressive.
Masterofthehorse codded us for a while, but finally we’ve twigged why exaggerated waiting tactics had been used on him.
Watching Masterofthehorse, as he struggled home a whopping 16 lengths fourth, almost made you feel like one half of those guys in the film, Dumb And Dumber!
Johnny Murtagh seemed to give him far too much to do at Chester and he came from the clouds at Epsom, in the hands of Richard Hughes.
But as they trundled up the straight at the Curragh, the truth finally dawned, he just doesn’t stay. Are we quick, or what?
Anyway, it will be particularly interesting to note how this Derby works out over time. In theory it was far from a vintage renewal, but huge gaps between the first and second, and then back through the field, can often offer a lot of encouragement.
For Aidan O’Brien this was yet another remarkable achievement and to pass Vincent O’Brien’s record of six Irish Derby wins, a couple of months before his 40th birthday, tells it all.
O’Brien, and indeed the entire Coolmore set-up, however, are in danger of becoming victims of their own success.
There was an inevitability about Sunday’s proceedings which was hardly a recipe for getting the pulses racing in any meaningful manner.
It would be overstating to describe it as a case of familiarity breeding contempt, but there was a strong sense of deja vu all the same!
The crowd at 23,000 plus, down 15% on the previous year, was moderate enough and the question now has to be asked, who will be the first racecourse to grasp the nettle and dramatically reduce the price of admission?
The old ways are no longer good enough, in the middle of this massive recession, and it is time to give the punter the incentive to go racing.
The vast majority of meetings are about the money coming to the racecourses from SIS anyway.
So, who will be the first to let the punters in the gate for say €10 or less?
