Fortune favours O'Brien's soldier

Soldier Of Fortune produced a devastating turn of foot to slam his rivals in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh.

Having attracted support in the build-up to the race, Seamus Heffernan’s mount was eventually sent off at 5-1 and led home an Aidan O’Brien one-two-three in the 12-furlong feature.

After assuming command just before the quarter-mile point, Soldier Of Fortune rocketed away from stablemates Alexander Of Hales (33-1) and 6-4 favourite Eagle Mountain to score in emphatic style.

The fourth O’Brien runner, Spanish Harlem, was soon kicked into an early lead by Fran Berry and that pair set a fair gallop at the head of affairs.

As those early exploits began to take their toll, a host of runners moved on to the leaders heels upon entering the straight and Boscobel briefly took over in the hands of Joe Fanning.

That Sheikh Mohammed-owned colt was soon sending out the distress signals, however, as the gambled-on Soldier Of Fortune cruised alongside and grabbed the initiative.

Eagle Mountain was delivered out wide but Kieren Fallon, who had been niggling away for some time, never looked like getting to grips with O’Brien’s supposed second string.

And as Heffernan pressed the button, Soldier Of Fortune found a visually stunning change of gear on his way to registering a nine-length verdict.

Alexander Of Hales and Eagle Mountain stuck to their task to fill the minor places but both were outclassed on the day.