Road To The 2014 Derby

Irish Champion weekend is getting serious promotion and Coolmore will more than play their part.
Irish Champion will be his crowning glory going permitting.
If they were brave they would take in Sussex Stakes as well!
 
Be interesting if they went Irish/English Champion. I could see them doing that, spaces the races out nicely if they were to go Juddmonte/Irish/English. Can't see them going back to a mile but would be bloody exciting if they did!
 
Irish Derby is becoming an absurd race since the French changed their programme . A Group 2 with a lot of money involved .

A fair enough point however that in a year like some of the KEVII field should have run here instead .
 
brendanr said:
That was Kingfisher yesterday who collected almost 200K for running around the track. I just don't get it.
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I suppose they'd have thought Kingston Hill was nailed on for second place at least. Eagle Top would have been an interesting entry but maybe they felt Ascot was the ideal opportunity to educate him and win a decent pot.
 
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Ardross said:
Irish Derby is becoming an absurd race since the French changed their programme .
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The French Derby is thriving though with wide open big fields and Guineas winners stepping up in trip etc.

Difficult issue with the Eclipse and GP De Paris so close to the Irish Derby though.
 
reet hard said:
Makes perfect sense to me, Fist, and I agree completely that he'll be a better horse over 10f.
Can't ever remember Coolmore ducking a challenge to retain an unbeaten record, either?
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Yeah a few people have said that but where on earth do you get that idea from......He shirks challenges left right and centre.......look at his previous Derby winners

Galileo wins the Derby, goes Irish. They did go for the King George but the race was a joke as his only deent rival was a 10f horse who never won at 12f. They then took in the Champion because it looked the easiest route but lost out to the same horse that he beat in the King George.

High Chappral missed the King George and the ARC and running in the poxy Irish Derby and then running in another weakly contested Irish race before scrapping home in the Irish Champion Stakes.

Camelot went for the Arc ok but only because they were trying to redeem his tarnished reputation............they even kept him in training after he flopped in that trying to run him in the worst Group 1's they could find for him but he flopped big time.

ROTW is hardly worth amention as like Camelot he was on a mission that also failed.

Sure he took on Sea the Stars with Flame and Glory and Mastercraftsmen but the latter had already tasted defeat and Fame and Glory first met him in the Derby and lost to him.

Rip Van Winkle took on the best but he had been beaten several times as well.

These horses had nothing to lose Australia like Galileo, High Chapperal and Camelot had everything to lose so O'Brien wrapped them up in cotton wool hoping they would stay unbeaten to get the best out of them at stud.

So please don't put him up like he's some cavalier........I am not knocking him but I am certainly not prasing him............He's doig his job in the fashion of a good businessman and that is what is expected of him........all the rest is all BS shed talk.......better at 10f my backside.
 
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Tanlic said:
High Chappral missed the King George and the ARC and running in the poxy Irish Derby and then running in another weakly contested Irish race before scrapping home in the Irish Champion Stakes.
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Try that again :blink:
 
And two of those listed ran at four....

Fist on transmit as usual :) The right question was Brendan's, only five turned up, it was €12500 for sixth, that would have covered costs if nothing else and there are plenty of horses who could have turned up and had a go. Baffles me why English trainers don't have more of a go at the Irish Derby.

It will maintain its status as well because Coolmore will continue to support it and they usually have the best middle distance colts.
 
Aragorn said:
Be interesting if they went Irish/English Champion. I could see them doing that, spaces the races out nicely if they were to go Juddmonte/Irish/English. Can't see them going back to a mile but would be bloody exciting if they did!
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Trouble with the English Champion could well be the ground.
 
A little baffling if Australia is so ground dependent that they are not making hay whilst the sun shines .
 
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