Jack Hobbs was as impressive a winner of the Irish Derby as the betting suggested he would be, coming home five lengths clear of Storm The Stars, with Giovanni Canaletto a similar distance back in third. John Gosden becomes the first trainer to win the English and Irish Derbys in the same year with different horses.
“It’s a little bit spoiling, isn’t it?” said Gosden, who also won the French Oaks recently. The Newmarket man had had a couple of runners in this race before but had never made it here to witness the premier Irish Classic.
After celebrating this, Gosden’s thoughts must turn quickly to next Saturday’s big race, the Eclipse at Sandown, in which his Epsom Derby winner, Golden Horn, will be a strong favourite. His rivals will include the French Derby winner, New Bay, but the result here must give hope that the Epsom form is superior to what took place at Chantilly.
The first three horses here finished second, third and fourth behind Golden Horn in the English equivalent. Meanwhile, Highland Reel, runner-up to New Bay in France, was well held in fifth on this occasion, unable to land a blow.
“He did it in good style,” Gosden said of Jack Hobbs, the 10-11 favourite. “He got a nice split at the head of the straight and then William [Buick] waited with him, which is right, you don’t want to start pushing too soon, this track takes some getting. But I loved the way he finished his race out. There’s nothing wrong with the form, a truly run race.”
Jack Hobbs becomes the first British-trained winner of the Irish Derby for 21 years, or 22 if you are among those who feel that the 1994 winner, Balanchine, should be regarded as a success for Dubai. The colt will now be given a break until the Prix Niel in September, a prep race for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. “He’s big, rangy, quite light-framed and he just needs to fill out,” Gosden said.
Storm The Stars made the running and stayed on gamely to be clear best of the rest. He immediately received a quote of 4-1 for the final English Classic of the year, the St Leger at Doncaster in the autumn.
Gordon Lord Byron, who hacked up in Haydock’s Sprint Cup in 2013, has that September race on his agenda once more after returning to winning ways in a Listed race here. He was third-favourite in a field of six after finishing in midfield obscurity in the Diamond Jubilee last Saturday but his trainer, Tom Hogan, had a ready explanation for that performance.
“He had a lung infection and by the time his treatment was over, I had 19 days to get him ready for Ascot and I sent him there too fresh,” Hogan said. “He charged the gate and he ran with the choke out for three furlongs, then he hit a flat spot and he stayed on again at the end. It was a brilliant run, considering what happened. He’s as good as he ever was.”
At Newcastle the Northumberland Plate, staged on grass for the final time, was won by Quest For More, who was briefly short of room at the top of the straight but always looked the likely winner once in the clear. The Irish raider Max Dynamite stayed on strongly to be second. Seamour, sent off as the well-supported 5-1 favourite, got a good early position despite his wide draw but the effort may have cost him as he faded into sixth in the final furlong.
Richard Hughes is available at 5-1 to retain his title as champion jockey after revealing that he may start his training career as soon as September. Hughes has been champion for the last three years and as recently as Wednesday he was odds-on to make it four but the betting market reacted swiftly to the news that his focus is already switching to the next phase of his career.
“I absolutely cannot wait to train,” the 42-year-old said in his Racing Post column on Saturday. “My ambition is to saddle my first runners in September or October.”
While he has not yet been granted a trainer’s licence, he has completed the relevant courses upon which the British Horseracing Authority insists and has been setting up his stable at Danebury in Hampshire.
Hughes said his mind is “still on the job of being a jockey” but added: “Whereas at the start of this year retaining the title meant everything to me, that is no longer the case. If I can be champion again, that would be great but if the riding looks like hurting the training, I will have to knock the title on the head.”
Ryan Moore, who leads Hughes by 11 winners, is now no bigger than 4-7 to be champion for the first time since 2009. Silvestre De Sousa, currently second in the table, 10 winners behind Moore, is 5-1 and all other riders are 33-1 or bigger.
