Life’s a Beach for O’Brien as he experiences the joy of six (in a row - nine in all) in Irish Derby

ONE of the more interesting pieces of paper floating around from bookmakers, in the wake of Treasure Beach’s victory in yesterday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh, was an offering from William Hill.

They went just 6-4 Aidan O’Brien to win the 2012 Irish Derby. Normally you would be inclined to treat such a quote with contempt, but flat racing in this country is being dominated to such an extent by Ballydoyle that it would be simply ridiculous to dismiss 6-4 as any sort of insult.

Treasure Beach led home a 1-2-3 for O’Brien, in front of Seville and Memphis Tennessee and further emphasised the utter stranglehold Ballydoyle has on the game in Ireland.