Reports of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby’s supposed demise looked exaggerated when Los Angeles gave Aidan O’Brien a 16th success in Ireland’s premier Classic at the Curragh on Sunday.
The 13-8 second-favourite held off a trio of cross-channel rivals under Ryan Moore to win the €1.25 million highlight by three-parts of a length.
Third to his stable companion City Of Troy in Epsom at the start of the month, Los Angeles reversed form with the Epsom runner-up Ambiente Friendly, who briefly headed him in the straight only to eventually fade to third.
Instead, it was the 16-1 outsider Sunway that filled the runner-up slot, while Matsuri finished fourth after a troubled passage up the straight.
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Los Angeles carried the Westerberg colours of part-owner Georg Von Opel, great-grandson of the founder of the German car manufacturer, and a relatively new addition to the Coolmore ownership.
He wasn’t present but the head of the world’s most powerful bloodstock operation, John Magnier, did make a rare public appearance, accompanied by his friend and business partner JP McManus in a heavyweight show of support for the Derby and the Curragh.
Both men are shareholders in the revamped €81 million facility that has struggled to attract people through the gates and isn’t projected to reach profitability for some years to come.
O’Brien and Coolmore’s Irish Derby dominance has proved a double-edged sword in competition terms, regularly referenced in relation to unease about the race’s slipping status.
However, their decision to skip Sunday’s race with City Of Troy prompted different concerns in terms of prestige. The top three-year-old will line up in Sandown’s Eclipse next Saturday.
It’s a strategic move that paid off for his owners though, with Los Angeles successfully stepping into the breach at the Curragh.
Tailing his three stable companions for much of the race, the imposing colt shot up the rail entering the straight. Rab Havlin on Ambiente Friendly was alive to the move and quickly joined the leader only for Los Angeles’ stamina to kick in when Moore asked for everything.
It was an admirably game display by a horse with only one defeat on his CV and who was cut to 3-1 favourite for the even more stamina demanding St Leger, a double-edged compliment perhaps in the circumstances.
Nevertheless, Magnier and O’Brien were keen to bolster the Irish Derby’s reputation as a prime European Classic objective, dismissing suggestions the race could benefit from a cut in trip to 10 furlongs from a mile and a half, and pointing out how the Epsom form had stood up.
“That’s important, especially now that the French have changed their race [Prix Du Jockey Club] and it’s not really the Derby any more. It’s good to have the Epsom form held up here, really important I’d say,” Magnier said.
As for emulating the French and cutting the Irish Derby distance, the hugely influential breeder and businessman commented: “That’s the tradition and the history. It’s like the Belmont in America, they won’t shorten the distance. The thing is that you need to go from the top to the bottom, you don’t need all five-furlong races.”
O’Brien stressed the importance of the Irish Derby’s date as well as its capacity to pull together various form threads from earlier in the month, a capacity it hasn’t always fulfilled in recent years.
The record-breaking trainer was also encouraged by Moore’s report that Los Angeles may possess more speed than Leger quotes might suggest. It was the jockey’s first time to ride the colt.
“We came here thinking that he was going to turn into a Leger horse, but Ryan said he has way more class than that,” O’Brien said.
“It’s great to have this race at this time of the year so all those horses can come together and you get to find out what’s there.
“He’s a big, hardy horse. He looks like he was a baby, but he is a Group One winner at two as well. He is progressing, definitely, and we’re really looking forward to him. Obviously, he’s by Camelot so he has that class, he can quicken,” he added.
The Ambiente Friendly team’s decision to come here rather than take on City of Troy again in Sandown briefly looked like paying off.
“We knew it was going to be a good gallop, sneaked through on the inside, went to challenge the winner, but the red light was starting to come on coming to the furlong,” Havlin said.
“From the two to the one we had a good old ding-dong and then inside the one, I could feel he was getting the better of me and coming to the line I needed the line. We’ll get him back and possibly go back to a mile and a quarter.”
The veteran Scottish jockey subsequently got a one-day ban for careless riding inside the final 200 metres.
In contrast, Sunway’s trainer David Menuisier didn’t hesitate to emphasise his horse’s stamina credentials for the Leger.
“We’ve always thought the world of him and people kind of lost faith in the horse. But today he really vindicated himself, showed that he is a real class act and I’m delighted for the horse,” he said.
“I could see him staying a bit further, if the owners agree he could well go for the Leger and we could have a top stayer on our hands,” he added.
Sunday’s Irish Day attendance was 11,418, a slight increase from last year’s 10,897.
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