THE IRISH DERBY.

​Ambiente Friendly may gain consolation for his heroic run in the Epsom Derby, when for a brief moment as Rab Havlin took a pull so he would not hit the front too soon, only to see City of Troy getting a dream run up the rail, he looked all-over the winner in waiting. If he does not win at the Curragh, it is as certain as night follows day that Aidan O’Brien will triumph yet again.
If it were not for Coolmore and the Ballydoyle stables of Aidan O’Brien where would the Irish Derby be, except in even greater trouble. Derbies of all distinction should not be run with as few as six or seven-runners, which is likely on Sunday. Also, national Derbies should be live on terrestrial television as befitting their status as Derbies. There are Derbies and then are races that carry the name Derby in their title. A Derby that is a handicap is not a true and bone fide Derby. Once upon a time there were Scottish and Welsh Derbies and regional Derbies, as there are regional ‘Nationals.’ They are peripheral and some might say pseudo-Derbies and play no significant part in racing’s narrative. The Irish Derby should be a central pivot of the Irish racing story as was the case when it was known as the Irish Sweeps Derby.
Epsom Derby winners went to the Curragh. The Eclipse at Sandown was hardly ever considered as the natural next destination for a Derby winner. Times have not changed; breeding has changed. Breeders, and I make no apology for the criticism, are ruining flat racing with its insatiable desire for speed, speed and more speed. Very soon there will be a call for four-furlong races as so many sprinters are not able to stay five-furlongs. As there are calls for the Irish Derby to follow the example of France and reduce its Derby to ten-furlongs due to the lack of stamina in the national herd. Thank the sweet Lord that Coolmore remains true to old-fashioned standards, though even they are increasingly looking to get more speed into their mares and stallions.
On this topic I am two-faced as I have long advocated that the Doncaster St.Leger should lose its classic status and be replaced by the Eclipse being restricted to 3-year-olds, allowing for the English classic season to be done and dusted by mid-summer. I am not expecting my revolutionary idea to come to pass, and if it did it would further diminish the appeal of the Irish Derby, which I would dread to witness.
The problem is that the main owners, nearly all of whom are of foreign descent, race to make stallions as that is where the money is to be made and the more breeders that favour speed over stamina, the less appeal any Group 1 over further than 10-furlongs will have for them. Bizarrely for a country renowned for their sprinters, Australia is becoming home to far more of our 12-furlong + plus horses than is healthy for our summer race calendar, with the 2-mile Melbourne Cup still its dominant race.
And that is the rub. Because the English and Irish race programme has grown from seeds planted 200-years ago when stamina in horses was of necessity, the majority of our top flat races are run over distances further than 10-furlongs. Yet breeders insist on over-producing sprinters, which is further diminishing the pool of stock to be sold as potential National Hunt horses. It is a problem that needs to be addressed, as is proved by the paucity of horses that now take part in the highlight of Ireland’s flat season. Six of the eleven entered for the Irish Derby this week-end are trained by Aidan O’Brien. That is not healthy.
The criteria for a race like a Derby, be it at Epsom or the Curragh, is that it should be possible for there to be a sweepstake on the race. When this is not possible, the alarm bells should ring and they should ring loud and long, for as long as no one is prepared to do something about the situation. I have few solutions, I admit. The best of which is to include within the prize-money a six or seven-figure bonus if the winner or placed horses at Epsom go on to win the Irish Derby.
The Irish Derby must be a hard sell to both possible sponsors and the public. Something other than altering the distance should be done and done quickly as except for Coolmore, the race is becoming an irrelevance on the world’s racing stage and in a land where the breeding of thoroughbreds is of world renown, that is wholly unforgivable.