Another Derby shock for Aidan O’Brien as Capri wins the Irish Derby at the Curragh
Capri turned around the Epsom Derby form with Cracksman and Wings Of Eagles to win the Irish equivalent for Aidan O'Brien, a 12th win for Ballydoyle maestro.
CAPRI motored home to land an upset in the Irish Derby at The Curragh.
Seamie Heffernan rode the big-race winner for the third time after slugging it out with second Cracksman and third Wings Of Eagles - who couldn’t repeat his Epsom heroics.
Four horses had every chance passing the two-furlong post but the 6-1 shot kept pulling out more along the rail to win by a neck.
French raider Waldgeist never landed a blow in fourth. He travelled well for a long way but found little when asked for his challenge.
Heffernan claims he was full of confidence that the Epsom Derby sixth would come out on top.
He said: “I always felt confident coming out on him today. I knew I had the ammunition and that he was good enough to win this. He’s tough and has definitely done better since Epsom.
“Aidan trains these horses to keep on improving and they usually do. This fella has at least. I cannot wait to ride my fourth Irish Derby winner now!”
Trainer O’Brien clocked up an amazing 12th victory in the Curragh Classic and was delighted with the winner.
He said: “Seamus always had a lot of faith in him and even after finishing sixth at Epsom this was the horse he always wanted to ride today. He is really brave and he got the trip well. The softer ground didn’t inconvenience him at all either.”
There were no complaints from the beaten horses. Cracksman’s jockey Pat Smullen said: “I have go not excuses at all, he ran a really good race. He just wasn’t good enough inside the final furlong.”
There has been plenty of grumbling about the race being run at The Curragh with a much reduced crowd of just 6,000 while the track is being renovated.
But O’Brien was full of praise for the course itself. He added: “This is the best three-year-old race in Europe and it’s run on the fairest track in the world. There are no hard luck stories here and we’re lucky to have such a good track in Ireland.”
Earlier at the Curragh, Gordon Elliott scored a notable Flat victory as Beckford claimed the GAIN Railway Stakes at the Curragh.
Elliott is famed for his jumping exploits, but the trainer has a smart team on the level this term, with Beckford leading the way after proving far too good in this Group Two heat.
"He's a nice horse. I'm delighted it's all worked out, for the syndicate that bought him in the first place and for Newtown Anner who were good enough to buy him and leave him with me," said Elliott.