Padraig Beggy does not win many Derbys for his backers, but when he does, it is worth the wait. The jockey who caused one of the biggest upsets in Epsom history, on the 40-1 shot Wings Of Eagles two summers ago, was at it again here, riding Sovereign, at 33-1, to a six-lengths victory in the Irish Derby which all but silenced a huge crowd crammed into the Curragh’s new €81m grandstand.
Sovereign, who is trained by Aidan O’Brien, was generally assumed to be in Saturday’s field to set a strong pace for his stable companion Anthony Van Dyck, who took the Derby at Epsom in a tight five-way finish earlier this month. That, after all, had appeared to be Sovereign and Beggy’s role at Epsom, and one that they performed well before fading in the straight to finish 10th of the 13 runners, nine lengths behind the winner.
Some of Beggy’s fellow jockeys, perhaps, were guilty of making the same assumption. Only Seamie Heffernan, who rode Anthony Van Dyck at Epsom but was aboard Norway on Saturday, kept tabs on Sovereign when Beggy fired him to the front as soon as the stalls opened.
The “big three” in the race – Anthony Van Dyck, Madhmoon and Broome, who were first, second and fourth at Epsom – were settled well off the pace, and the two leaders were still well clear as they turned for home with half a mile to run. This was the point at which Sovereign started to weaken at Epsom four weeks ago, but on Saturday he seemed to grow stronger with every passing furlong.
At the two-pole, he was clearly getting away from Norway and with a furlong to run, he was as good as past the post. Anthony Van Dyck, the 5-4 favourite partnered by Ryan Moore, stayed on to finish second, six lengths adrift, while the fact that Norway stayed on to finish third added to the impression that Sovereign and Norway had enjoyed a soft lead through the opening mile.
“Padraig was in front and he was comfortable and his horse kept coming,” O’Brien said. “I’d say anytime that you make the running you have to get the fractions right, and he did.
“The Curragh is a big, open galloping track and he has a massive stride. The undulations at Epsom might not have suited him as much. I always feel that 10 lengths is not hard to make up, it’s 10 strides for a horse.
“We thought Broome might be [settled in] third but he got a bit anxious in the stalls and missed it [the break]. The pace was right, Padraig set perfect fractions, started to increase from halfway and he wasn’t for stopping. He’s by Galileo and when they get away, they’ll go down on their knees trying.”
This was Sovereign’s first success in six starts since taking a maiden at Galway in September 2018, while his victory was O’Brien’s 13th in Ireland’s premier Classic. Beggy admitted he had been no more than “hopeful” of victory on Saturday morning. “He’s a horse by Galileo and Aidan told me to jump out and get into a nice rhythm,” Beggy said. “It’s a stiff, galloping track here and he kept on all the way to the line.”
This was, on the face of it, something of a freak victory, albeit it one that was secured by a perfectly-judged front-running ride. The test for Sovereign now will be to back it up, possibly in either the King George at Ascot at the end of July or the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp on 14 July. He has also been cut in price for the St Leger at Doncaster in September, which may prove to be a more realistic target.
