epsom derby, 2021.

​Yes, Adam Kirby got the ride on Adayar in the same manner Frankie Dettori took the ride on John Leeper off Adam Kirby and that Oisin Murphy has more to be aggrieved about than Kirby last Thursday when he was told he had lost the ride on Ed Dunlop’s colt but to me, this year’s result was a case of Justine Done. Having said that, Oisin Murphy’s gentlemanly conduct when told that Kirby had replaced him on Adayar was exemplary and the older and more mature he becomes the greater I hold him in esteem. A top jockey; a top man.
I must admit, as much as I like Kirby as a human being and as much as I admire his superb work ethic and dedication to his profession, he would not be my go-to jockey in all circumstances but hell was I pleased he won the Derby. Whether he will get to ride the horse again is immaterial, William Buick is stable jockey and doubtless will choose to ride Adayar next time it runs, on the day Kirby gave Adayar a first-class ride and though the result may suggest this year’s crop of three-year-old colts are far from vintage it is a result that will live long in the memory. And of course, in winning on Adayar Kirby may be the first jockey to have ridden to victory at Epsom on a colt he broke in as a yearling. I would be interested to learn if any other jockey can boast the same achievement.
I would suggest the 2021 Epsom Derby will also live long in the memory of Aidan O’Brien and the Coolmore boys as unusually their collective experience messed up big time, opting to run just one horse proved as bad a choice as they could have made, even if it made life a little easier for Ryan Moore. They must have been pretty confident Bolshoi Ballet was above par to choose not to run High Definition or even a lesser horse as a pacemaker. I doubt they take the same option come the Irish Derby.

The Oaks on the other hand was very much a case of getting it right for Coolmore, even if Ryan Moore choose wrong yet again. My initial reaction was that Snowfall must be something special but on reflection, though she is obviously top-drawer, I am drawn to the view that she might have been flattered somewhat by the sixteen-length margin of victory as the opposition may be less than top-class given none of them could find a way past Mystery Angel and soft ground has habit of throwing-up big margin winners. Aidan’s first thoughts are to take Snowfall to the Curragh for the Irish Oaks rather than to select the King George & Queen Elizabeth at Ascot as her next race, so perhaps he too would like to see her put up a similar performance before upping her into all-age championship races.
One small matter; am I the only one who thinks a horse called Snowfall should be a grey not a bay? Coolmore get praised for the naming of their horses, though mainly by journalists brown-nosing in order to remain on the approved list to visit Ballydoyle. Clementine was supposedly a good name for a sister to Churchill, even though Clementine was Winston’s wife not his sister. And Was is such a lazy way to name a horse. Is, That and How will surely come along at some stage. As for recycling the names of famous artists, buildings and monuments …..

Finally, I am amazed the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board handed-out a four-year ban to trainer Stephen Mahon. For his crimes, and they were crimes as opposed to merely breaking the rules of racing, should have demanded a lifetime ban from the sport and investigation by the police for animal cruelty. He should be facing a long prison sentence not preparing his case for appeal. One wonders what it takes in Ireland for anyone to be warned off for life. No doubt ‘the horse comes first’ motto is unused in Irish racing circles.