Australia’s derby double may yet prove significant for Irish racing

Advent Calendar #1

Maybe time will result in a proper appreciation of Australia’s talent. The regally-bred son of two classic winners always ran against the backdrop of Aidan O’Brien’s early description of him as the best he’d ever trained.

O'Brien never backed off that view, but on the back of such a commercially significant statement, even completing the Epsom-Curragh Derby double - and beating older horses in the Juddmonte International at York - meant Australia never quite lived up to expectations. Maybe those expectations were unrealistic but they were set early, and by those in the know.

Nevertheless, the chestnut colt finished 2014 as Europe's top-rated horse, a Group 1 winner at 10 and 12 furlongs, and an unlucky third in a vintage 2,000 Guineas over a mile. He provided O'Brien with an unprecedented three-in-a-row at Epsom and gave him an 11th victory in the Irish Derby at the end of June. Australia was truly top-class.

Time could also prove that Curragh victory as extra-significant. Following the withdrawal of Kingston Hill and Geoffrey Chaucer from the race, Australia was left to a 1-8 saunter over two of his stable-companions, a definitive exhibition of O’Brien’s dominance of Ireland’s premier classic which is hardly his fault, but which this time led to official admissions that the Derby’s international prestige is slipping.

Pattern race authorities are examining the Irish Derby’s future as part of the overall European programme, especially in relation to the distance of its French counterpart and the length of time between it and Royal Ascot.

It looked a damp squib at the time, but the 2014 Irish Derby may yet kickstart significant change.