JUST in case anyone hasn’t had enough reflections on last weekend’s Investec Derby we might just take a look at a few aspects of an absolutely intriguing edition of what remains the world’s greatest classic.

Less than a month before the Derby, Serpentine was a twice-raced maiden whose comeback fifth behind Galileo Chrome in a warm-looking Curragh maiden suggested he could be a nice type for the coming months. In the space of just a week though Serpentine has gone from a maiden winner to etching his name, and that of his enterprising jockey Emmet McNamara and his trainer Aidan O’Brien, into racing folklore forevermore.

For just under two centuries, Robert Robson, titled the ‘emperor of trainers’, jointly held the accolade of being the winningmost trainer in Epsom’s Derby history. It is recorded that Robson did much to advance the status of trainers during his epoch defining run of success.

Some 182 years after his passing, Robson’s status as the jointly most successful trainer in the race’s history has been surpassed by Aidan O’Brien. In the aftermath of Saturday’s race the Ballydoyle trainer’s singular achievement has perhaps been somewhat overshadowed, but of his many tremendous accomplishments O’Brien’s eight Derby victories is a truly unparalleled achievement which will more likely than not stand the same test of time that Robson’s did.

In terms of the race itself in this strangest of years, the Derby was won by a horse with the most unusual of profiles. Just a week prior to Epsom, Serpentine recorded the first success of his career in a 10-furlong maiden at the Curragh when he raced to a resounding nine-length triumph against some overmatched rivals.

Catalyst

That effort was the catalyst for an ambitious and rapid return to the fray, but when it comes to Aidan O’Brien the extraordinary has become routine, and so it proved to be as Serpentine made all to score by five and a half lengths at odds of 25/1, with 50/1 and 100/1 shots filling the next two places.

As is generally the case in racing, when you get a contest the magnitude of the Derby where the first three placings are filled by three longshots the temptation is immediately to examine what went wrong for the fancied runners rather than credit the winner for his effort.

Furthermore, the default position is to assume that in a more conventional affair Serpentine might have his work cut out to confirm placings with some of the beaten horses.

However, there are various factors to consider. Firstly, there is the fact that when Serpentine won his maiden at the Curragh he was hugely impressive and posted a time that was notably quicker than either the Alleged Stakes or even the Pretty Polly Stakes which were also run over the same course and distance on Irish Derby Weekend.

Thus the Galileo colt went into the Derby off the back of a strong performance on the clock. This alone suggested that he was no longshot nor that if he employed similar tactics he should be dismissed as a pacemaker for higher-profile rivals. This was the assumption that most of the Derby field fell into though as Serpentine was largely ignored until everyone realised their peril far, far too late.

Nonetheless, it would be most unwise to assume Serpentine recorded a lucky Derby success. Lesser horses have tried similar tactics in the past – the 2010 runner-up At First Sight is one that springs to mind – but have failed to reach the line in front, whereas Slip Anchor famously made all back in 1985.

Serpentine has some way to go to reach the heights achieved by Slip Anchor. Although he never won after the Derby, the latter was crowned Champion European Racehorse of 1985 and, at the time, his rider Steve Cauthen hailed him as the best he had ridden.

Improving colt

The purpose of this is not to say that Serpentine is on the cusp of heading the European standings at the end of 2020, but this later-maturing colt is evidently improving at a rate of knots.

He is unlikely to be granted such leeway in his future assignments, but what he achieved last weekend marks him out as formidable foe for any horse and it would be a grave mistake to view him through the prism of being a lucky Derby winner; history relates just how hard it is to make all in the greatest classic of them all.

That he was able to do so is testament to his class and it is an expectation rather than a hope that he will confirm the merit of his Epsom heroics when he returns to the track later this summer.

Get with the times

AS an aside, a great help to understanding the intricacies of this year’s Investec Derby is sectional timing. Unfortunately such a luxury remains unavailable to Irish racing, which is a pity and an omission that shouldn’t persist to this day.

There was a time when it was expected that sectional timing would be introduced at every Irish racecourse by January 1st, 2017. Three and a half years later and sectional timing remains out of reach for Irish racing.

This remains quite a disappointment as, back in 2016, SIS agreed to introduce sectional timing at every Irish racecourse as part of the media rights deal it negotiated with Horse Racing Ireland.