Strewth!

STREWTH! 
If Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor and Teo Ah Khing’s Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) was going to justify all that talk, he had to win yesterday’s 
G1 Investec Derby at Epsom, and the chestnut son of a Derby and Oaks winner duly got the job done to go some way to fulfilling his enormous potential. Third with no one to race against on his side in the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket May 3, the chestnut, who started as the 11-8 favorite, had the perfect target here and, after cruising through the unique test, subdued Kingston Hill (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) from the quarter pole to win by 1 1/4 lengths. “He’s the best I’ve ridden,” Joseph O’Brien said. “I was cantering all the way and got there too soon. He had a good look when he got there, but horses don’t come any easier to ride than this one.” His father, who was enjoying another slice of history as the first trainer to win three consecutive Derbies, paid his own tribute. “We’ve always thought he was very special, because of the pace he has, being bred the way he is, and he showed that today. He’s a beautiful specimen and the most unbelievable Galileo to have come along, as he has the speed of a miler and gets a mile and a half. We felt we had never had anything like it, and he was one of those who looks too good to be true, but he’s never disappointed us in any way.” 

Saturday, Epsom, Britain 
INVESTEC DERBY-G1, £1,380,000, EPM, 6-7, 3yo, c/f, 12f 10yT, 2:33.63, gd. 
1–sAUSTRALIA (GB), 126, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire) 
     1st Dam: Ouija Board (GB) (Champion 3yo Filly, Champion Older Horse, 2x Champion Turf Mare & 2x Horse of the Year-Eur, 2x Hwt. Older Mare at 11-14f-Eng, Hwt. Older Mare at 9.5-11f-Ire, MGISW-US, MG1SW-Eng, G1SW-Ire & HK, G1SP-Fr & Jpn, $5,102,985), by Cape Cross (Ire) 
     2nd Dam: Selection Board (GB), by Welsh Pageant (Fr) 
     3rd Dam: Ouija (GB), by Silly Season 
(525,000gns yrl ‘12 TATOCT). O-Derrick Smith, 
Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Teo Ah Khing. 
B-Stanley Estate & Stud Company (GB). T-Aidan 
O’Brien. J-Joseph O’Brien. £782,598. Lifetime 
Record: GSW-Ire, 5-3-1-1, £874,323. *1/2 to 
Voodoo Prince (GB) (Kingmambo), GSW-Aus & SP- 
Eng, $237,195. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple 
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree 
2–Kingston Hill (GB), 126, c, 3, Mastercraftsman (Ire)– 
Audacieuse (GB), by Rainbow Quest. (70,000gns yrl 
‘12 TATOCT). O-Paul Smith. B-Ridgecourt Stud (GB). 
T-Roger Varian. £296,700. 
3–Romsdal (GB), 126, c, 3, Halling–Pure Song (GB), 
by Singspiel (Ire). (65,000gns yrl ‘12 TATOCT). O- 
HRH Princess Haya of Jordan. B-W&R Barnett Ltd 
(GB). T-John Gosden. £148,488. 
Margins: 1 1/4, 3 1/4, 3 3/4. Odds: 1.38, 7.50, 20.00. 
Also Ran: Arod (Ire), Red Galileo (GB), Western Hymn (GB), True Story (GB), Fascinating Rock (Ire), Ebanoran (Ire), Kingfisher (Ire), Impulsive Moment (Ire), Orchestra (Ire), Our Channel, Pinzolo (GB), Sudden Wonder (Ire), Geoffrey Chaucer. Click for the Racing Post result or the brisnet.com PPs. VIDEO, courtesy Racing UK. 
One of racing’s anomalies is that Oaks winners rarely produce horses in their own mold, and that may partly explain why Australia only fetched 525,000 guineas despite his exceptional pedigree, but as usual it was Coolmore who spotted the bargain and chose to ignore the historical portents. By early summer 2013, he was already showing the kind of dynamism in his preparatory work to suggest he was going to buck the trend and emulate his parentage, and headed to the same seven-furlong Curragh maiden which had played host to Ballydoyle’s former luminaries Brian Boru (Ire), Horatio Nelson (Ire), Duke of Marmalade (Ire), Rip Van Winkle (Ire) and Roderic O’Connor (Ire). Surprisingly, the bright pupil took a tardy approach to the start and cost himself a winning debut by losing lengths there before going one better over the same track and trip the next month. It was testament to his raw ability that he was able to comprehensively upstage J “TDN Rising Star” J Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) while still racing greenly on his final juvenile outing in the G3 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Trial S. at Leopardstown on the Irish Champion undercard. It was then that Aidan O’Brien went on record as stating that he was the best flat horse he had handled, and he duly occupied clear favoritism for the 2000 Guineas prior to the display of Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Greenham. Despite that mile Classic being one of the strongest in recent years, he almost managed to overhaul that rival and the eventual winner Night of Thunder (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) with his stable under a cloud and being forced to race alone near the stand’s side throughout the final furlong. With that high-class effort under his belt, the blueblood entered this date with destiny accompanied by a feeling of inevitability, and even the threatening clouds cleared away in time, with less rain falling on Epsom Downs than forecast. In the race itself, Joseph O’Brien oozed confidence, sitting pretty out of trouble halfway down the field with chief rival Andrea Atzeni more animated, sticking close to the pace on Kingston Hill. Where the latter was working hard to take the initiative as the final quarter mile approached, Australia’s rider was merely crouching lower, and as soon as the order was given the Ballydoyle beau was stripping the grey of his short lead and stretching beyond recall. “The race went very well and the only thing that went slightly wrong was he got a little nudge, which put him in gear earlier than I wanted,” his jockey said. “He got there a little early, but he toughed it out well. I was almost going too easily throughout the race.” For Aidan O’Brien, the outcome of his fifth Derby was confirmation of his bold statements on that day at Leopardstown nine months earlier. “We’re in a very privileged position to have the horses we have and the team we have,” he commented. “Joseph had it in his mind where he wanted to be all the time and keep it uncomplicated and safe, so he gave him a beautiful ride. We’re going through a tricky time with our horses, as they were very sick in the spring and they all had to get medicated. It was tricky training them after that, as some were slower to respond and some lost weight and some put it on. He has a lot of stamina in his pedigree, but terrible pace and with a horse like that you can’t be sure they are going to carry it through to a mile and a half, but he’s very relaxed and good-natured and has an unbelievable mind and constitution. He has a lot of options, because he has a lot of pace, so it will be anything from a mile up. He doesn’t have anything to prove now and it’s going to be a case of getting him off to stud in one piece.” 

Rolling Back the Decades… 
For Lord Derby’s Stanley Estate, the result was a fairytale, as his illustrious racemare Ouija Board was producing the first Derby winner to prevail at Epsom for the establishment since Hyperion in 1933. The race was named after the 12th Earl of Derby in 1780 and his descendant, the 19th Lord Derby, said: “It’s a fantastic thing for the Stanley family, and particularly my brother, Peter, who bred Ouija Board and manages the stud. What a dream. I thought when Ouija Board won the Oaks, that was the highest achievement that could happen but this is the ultimate. My great-grandfather had one other Derby winner in wartime at Newmarket, so this is unbelievably special. It’s an extraordinary story and shows that the small-time owner-breeder can still do something. This is beyond possible and I am so lucky. The cry is that most great racemares don’t make great broodmares and the exceptions like Miesque and Urban Sea are very rare. We have a yearling colt out of Ouija Board by Dubawi at home, and there will be a lot of discussion among the family before we decide whether to sell or keep him. After today the odds have moved closer to keeping him. Ouija Board did not have a foal this year, but she is now carrying to Galileo and goes back to Galileo next year, so we’ll wait and see what happens there.” 

China Enters the Fray… 
Australia’s win also proved a landmark one for China, with the Malaysian part-owner Teo Ah Khing having founded the China Horse Club. The architect, who designed the grandstand at Meydan, spoke of his delight at being involved in the 235th renewal of the great race. “This is the first time there has been any Chinese representation in the Derby and today’s victory is wonderful for both Coolmore and the China Horse Club,” he commented. “This win will make sure a lot of Chinese and Asian interests will pay special attention to this famous race. My heart was beating very fast as the horses came down the straight. Now we all hope he continues to become a great racehorse, and one day a great stallion. This is my first time at Epsom, and the atmosphere is electric. It’s very different and there’s a charm to that. It’s fantastic–now I look forward to visiting Royal Ascot.” 

High On the Hill… 
Keeping it in the family, Derrick Smith’s son Paul was second to his father’s colt, and Kingston Hill may yet get the chance to enjoy Classic success in the G1 Irish Derby at The Curragh June 28. “I’m absolutely delighted, he ran a superb race,” his owner said. “We were very hopeful, but I know they thought so much of Australia and we tried to put it up to him. It’s great for Mastercraftsman, Andrea and Roger.” Conditioner John Gosden has another Classic in mind for the third, Princess Haya of Jordan’s Romsdal (GB) (Halling). “He has run a great race and looks very much a St Leger type,” he said. “Yet again the Guineas form has come to the fore, so it was obviously a very strong race as Kingman, The Grey Gatsby and now Australia have won the last three Classics since running at Newmarket. The time was well inside standard, so it was a very good Derby won by a hugely talented horse. Romsdal stayed on well and it’s all about freshening him up and going to Doncaster now.”