Investec Coronation Cup (Group 1)

THE first Group 1 race of the Derby meeting went to the Roger Varian-trained Defoe, who was slowest to stride in the mile and a half event, but was ridden in fearless style by Andrea Atzeni, splitting last year’s runner-up Salouen and the pace-making Communique despite the gap between that pair being a narrow one.

A decision to check and come wide would have been fatal to his chances, so Atzeni deserves high praise for threading the needle as he did, and he overhauled Kew Gardens to win by an official margin of half a length. The winning rider admitted that things didn’t go to plan out of the stalls, and he decided to ride the horse for luck. Luck was certainly on his side, but Defoe took his chance when it came, and was fulfilling ample previous promise.

Roger Varian was unsurprisingly delighted with the way things worked out and gave his verdict as follows: “You dream about results like that, and missing the break might have been in his favour. It’s not easy coming from an inside draw here, as history shows, but he saved every bit of ground and when they fanned out in the straight, it opened up nicely.

“The gap he came through was one of those that if you’re going well you can take, and if you’re not, they tend to roll in on top of you, but he didn’t flinch. He’s looked like a Group 1 horse on his day, and while he’s fallen short of that on his recent starts, I don’t think he’s ever been better at home.“

Kew Gardens looked certain to give Aidan O’Brien a record ninth win in this Group 1 prize, but although he kept on well to the line, he could not match Defoe’s finishing burst, and his future at the highest level will be over further. He needed the run at Chester last month, and might still have been a little short of peak fitness. He impressed with how he handled the track, keeping wide and galloping out to the line without the camber affecting his stride as it did others. He will improve as the season goes on, and remains one to be positive about.

Of the others, Salouen needs no excuses, but Old Persian was disappointing having held every chance at the top of the straight, although he was slightly inconvenienced by Marmelo hanging into him, the latter struggling a little with the undulations, although not as badly as Lah Ti Dar, who clearly didn’t handle the downhill stretches of the course, losing her position badly on the descent to Tattenham Corner, and will bounce back assuming the run doesn’t leave a mark.