Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Group 1)

STAMINA and tactics helped Los Angeles turn around Epsom form with Ambiente Friendly in last Sunday’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

Third behind Aidan O’Brien stablemate City Of Troy at Epsom, Los Angeles had just over three lengths to find with James Fanshawe’s Epsom runner-up Ambiente Friendly, who was sent off the 6/4 favourite at the Curragh.

Los Angeles (well backed at 13/8) was one of four running for O’Brien in the €1.25 million classic and it was the Ballydoyle quartet who dominated the front of the race in the early stages, with Euphoric, Grosvenor Square and The Euphrates giving their hotly-fancied stablemate the perfect tow into the race.

Heading into the straight the pacemakers came off the rail, allowing Los Angeles to go for home on the inside. However, Rab Havlin was alive to the move on Ambiente Friendly who challenged going well two furlongs out.

The big two duelled for a furlong and it was anyone’s race until Los Angeles edged ahead at the furlong pole as Ambiente Friendly started to run out of stamina.

Another British raider, David Menuisier’s Sunway, stayed on best of all to take second spot under Oisin Murphy, but was three quarters of a length behind the 13/8 winner at the line. Ambiente Friendly was a further half length adrift, a neck in front of Roger Varian’s Matsuri, who didn’t have a clear run under James Doyle.

The stewards would later give Havlin a one-day ban for careless riding.

A Group 1 winner last year, Los Angeles (by Camelot) was giving O’Brien a record-extending 16th triumph in the race. Carrying the Westerberg colours of Georg von Opel who shares him with the Coolmore partners, Los Angeles had sweated badly at Epsom but looked a picture in the preliminaries on Sunday.

“We were delighted with him in Epsom and we thought he would come forward,” said the trainer.

“He’s a big, hardy horse. He is progressing, definitely. Ryan said he had a lot more class than he expected and he quickened very well when he got there.”

Bookmakers were quick to promote Los Angeles to favouritism for the Betfred St Leger, although O’Brien said: “We came here thinking that he was going to turn into a Leger horse, but Ryan said he has way more class than that.”

AMBIENTE Friendly appears set for a drop back in trip having suffered classic heartbreak for the second time in the Derby.

Fanshawe said: “He ran really well and travelled really well to the two-furlong pole, he just got outstayed in the last furlong.

“I think we will probably be dropping back in trip now. He’s ran in a trial and two Derbys so we are going to have to see how he is when we get home. It would be quite nice to get him winning again before we have any real big targets.

“You would really like to have a go at the Qipco Champion Stakes over a mile and a quarter at Ascot at the end of the season, but we will see how he is when he gets home.”

David Menuisier, trainer of runner-up Sunway, said: “That is the third Classic I am losing by less than a length this season, so I’m used to it now.

“Today he really vindicated himself and showed he is a real class act. I’m really delighted for the horse.

“I could see him staying a bit further. If the owners agree he could well go the Leger and we could well have a top stayer on our hands.”

Roger Varian had thrown the well-regarded Matsuri into the deep end following a wide-margin victory in a Leicester novice event and the Sea The Stars colt took the step up in grade in his stride to finish an honourable fourth.

Varian said: “He’s ran a great race and confirmed he is a very good horse. We thought that coming into the race, and it is pleasing to see him hold his own and maybe we can think of what could have been if we had got a cleaner passage.

“I’ve only watched it the once and will need to watch it again, but I don’t think we got the room to run when we needed it. That’s racing and he’s ran a fine race and hopefully he is okay tomorrow and we can make some good plans for him.”

Gain Railway Stakes (Group 2)

HENRI Matisse, a son of Wootton Bassett and Immortal Verse, came from last to first to stylishly edge out The Strikin Viking in the Gain Railway Stakes.

Sent off the 8/1 outsider of the field, the mount of Wayne Lordan was the Aidan O’Brien second string in the Group 2 event and was held together in rear during the early stages as Adrian Murray’s Norfolk Stakes third Arizona Blaze led them along.

Kevin Ryan’s The Strikin Viking – named after Manchester City star Erling Haaland – and Ballydoyle favourite Tunbridge Wells were both up with the pace, keen to keep tabs on Arizona Blaze.

As both Arizona Blaze and Tunbridge Wells began to falter, The Strikin Viking looked poised to register a famous success in the Middleham Park Racing colours, but Henri Matisse was making headway throughout the closing stages and galloped on strongly to score by half a length.

It was O’Brien’s first win in the race since Van Beethoven in 2018 and now puts him level with the legendary Vincent O’Brien on a record 14 Railway Stakes victories.

Owned by the Coolmore partners with Merriebelle Irish Farms, the winner may be aimed at the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.

“We’re delighted with him. We thought he was a bit too babyish to go to Ascot and Wayne said he’s still babyish,” said O’Brien. “He said he’ll love going up to seven and we might go up to seven next, we’ll see what’s there for the Phoenix Stakes.

“He’s a lovely horse, tries very hard and is very genuine. He has an unbelievable pedigree.”

On Ryan Moore choosing Tunbridge Wells he added: “That was my fault really. I thought he was a bit more forward and a bit harder.

“It was hard to assess this horse after the last day, he made very hard work of winning. Obviously I put Ryan on the wrong one, but I do plenty of that!

“Ryan’s horse will be fine, he maybe didn’t travel as strongly as I thought he would and he maybe wants better ground. Maybe he needs to grow up a little bit.”

AN enterprising ride from Billy Lee paid dividends in the Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap, as Amazon Lady came home in splendid isolation.

Keen to take advantage of fresh ground on the far rail, Lee headed right when leaving stall one as the remainder of the field raced as a cluster on the stand side.

Racing on her own throughout, it was a roll of the dice which proved well worth taking as Willie McCreery’s 22/1 shot had enough in reserve in the closing stages to finish one and a half lengths clear of the rest.

“She was drawn one and there was six metres of fresh ground for the Derby horses, so it would be fresh for the last three furlongs so I said to get over to that,” said McCreery.

“She doesn’t mind racing on her own, she won in Navan the last day on her own. Billy has a good clock in his head and got her into a lovely rhythm. She broke from the gates and was gone, she didn’t see anything.

“She’s improving every race, but unfortunately the breeder (owner Madeline Burns of Rathasker Stud) decided to put her in foal!

“She’s in foal to New Bay and might have one more run in the Sweet Mimosa (Naas, July 24th) before going home.”

The opening nine-furlong premier handicap went the way of Michael Halford and Tracey Collins’ 2/1 favourite Sharinay.

Making just his fourth career appearance, the Aga Khan-owned son of Harzand came through nicely at the finish to see off Karl Burke’s well-regarded Arabic Legend.

“The form of the last race worked out really well and he’s a progressive horse, a typical Aga Khan horse that’s getting better with racing,” said Halford.

“He has a great mind, he’s a good sound horse and just keeps improving. The step up in trip, they generally stay well, but the thing with him is he had a lot of pace for a Harzand. He is getting better with the trip.

“We’ll step things up now, I have him entered in the Meld Stakes, he’ll even go another furlong in time if we need to. We’ll take gradual steps. Ronan is riding great, he is a very underestimated rider. He rides our horses really well.”

LORD Massusus relished the drop back to a mile to land another big prize for owner John Bourke in the Colm McLoughlin Celebration Stakes.

A Group 3 winner and flagbearer for trainer Joe Murphy, the four-year-old struggled to make his presence felt in his two most recent outings up at 10 furlongs.

However, back down to a mile, he travelled supremely in the hands of Gary Carroll and gave both weight and a beating to his rivals, surging clear in the closing stages to scoop listed honours at odds of 10/1. Azada, sixth in the Irish 1000 Guineas last time out, was sent off the evens favourite but was beaten a total of four lengths in third.

“We were on a recovery mission, we were so disappointed the last day after the Group 1 (Tattersalls Gold Cup). We were thinking where did we go wrong, but it was just one of those things,” said Murphy.

“Even during the week his work wasn’t exciting, but sometimes that can be a good thing, Swamp Fox was the very same.

“It’s a wonderful occasion and we’re back in business, where he should be, and I think he’s a nice horse going forward.

“That was a listed race and he gave 20lb to a good filly. We’ll probably travel with him, we’ll see how he comes out it and see what is available.”

MY Mate Alfie pulled out extra to scoop the Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Dash Stakes in a pulsating five-way finish.

Ger Lyons’ three-year-old has been a consistent performer throughout his short career and has thrived for dropping back to six furlongs, placing in the Committed Stakes behind Givemethebeatboys and finishing third to Bucanero Fuerte at Naas in the Lacken Stakes.

With none of the seven-strong field keen to go forward, it was left to Michael Dods’ defending champion Commanche Falls to take the field along, a move that would ultimately take its toll in the closing stages.

The steady pace meant there were five in a line fighting it out deep into the final furlong, but it was champion jockey Colin Keane who conjured up the most from his mount as My Mate Alfie bravely ground out a half-length victory at odds of 10/3.

“He’s been very consistent all year and the blinkers have transformed him,” said Lyons.

“He gets seven and the first furlong had me worried as they did 15 seconds and I thought it would turn into a sprint and they’d out-do him for speed.

“At home he’s bombproof and you can do whatever you like, but if you run him here without blinkers he just parks and won’t do a thing. The blinkers are the difference between winning and losing.

“It’s great for Austin (Whelan, owner) and all his gang, he’s called after his son Alfie. I’d say they’ll take a while to get home tonight.

“We aimed to have three winners this weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I said if we don’t win this it’s all on the Derby and I don’t think that’s going to happen!” My Mate Alfie could now be set for a visit to Goodwood as connections aim to get their hands on a valuable prize while the iron is hot.

“He’s in the Stewards’ Cup because it’s a £250,000 race. I was fourth in it with a filly many years ago. I was also just chinned in an Ayr Gold Cup, I wanted to be the first Irish trainer to win it.

“Those are two races that are on my agenda. I don’t think he’s good enough, but we’ll see.

“We’re always talking about prize money. You’ve got the Wokingham that’s worth £150,000 and the Stewards’ Cup that is £250,000 so if you are serious about prize money you have to partake.”

ADO McGuinness had a welcome winner in the closing 12-furlong Ragusa Premier Handicap as Star Harbour held off the fast-finishing Safecracker by a neck with the front-running Lot Of Joy just another neck away in third.

It’s been a rough year for McGuinness. His brother is terminally ill and he recently parted ways with his long-term assistant trainer Stephen Thorne.

The Co Dublin trainer has a remarkable record in premier handicaps with older, seemingly exposed horses. Owned by the Total Recall Racing Club, Star Harbour was having his 43rd career start here and was winning off a mark of 96, exactly as had done when he last won in 2023.

Stable apprentice Adam McCaffrey gave the gelding a great ride too.

“That’s brilliant, this horse deserves it as he’s been very consistent over his last few runs,” said McGuinness.

“He was fourth in a €50,000 handicap the last time and the lads have been very lucky, they’ve been with me since I started. They are a great bunch of lads.

“He wasn’t a cheap horse and I always said he’d win a big race so it’s great to get one. He’s been very consistent, he won a good one last year in the Racing League as well. He’s a great horse.

“We were to go to Yarmouth for the Racing League but that could actually put him out of the ratings now.

“If he doesn’t go there he could go for the mile-and-a-half in Galway. He’s run well in Galway before, he’s a Sea The Stars and stays well.

“I’d like to dedicate this win to my brother who is very ill in St Francis Hospice and doesn’t have long left. It will be a great tonic for him.”

Improving mare

Having gone close with Ano Syra and Greek Flower earlier in the day, local trainer John Feane got a deserved big race success when Indigo Five won the seven-furlong Summer Fillies Premier Handicap under Wesley Joyce.

The five-year-old mare continues to improve. Having won off 64 on soft ground and with cheekpieces fitted last year, here she was winning off 74 on goodish ground and with no headgear.

Runner-up Plume Noire was only beaten by a head and is another filly on the up. They were clear of the remainder.

Feane said:- “I’m delighted for [owner] Ray (McSharry) and Jim Browne who bred her. She was tough, she battled out well. She’ll be a better filly with a cut in the ground but she was very brave today.”

Tom Gibney is better known for his National Hunt exploits but he is more than capable of winning big pots on the flat, as he showed when saddling Booyea to win the one-mile Derby Festival Premier Handicap.

Raised 20lb in the handicap in his first season racing last year, the four-year-old Booyea made a winning reappearance at Fairyhouse two weeks earlier over seven furlongs and was scoring off a mark of 88 here, holding off the eye-catching No More Porter by three-quarters of a length.

The front two made contact in the closing stages and winning rider Gavin Ryan received a four-day ban for causing interference.

Gibney, who told the stewards Booyea was “very difficult” to saddle, said afterwards: “He’s a real handful as you can see with him coming in there now. We had some job tacking him up.

“I wasn’t on the ball today, I should have had earplugs or something on him. He got really upset before the race and I honestly thought that was it, race over. Fair play to him he’s a good horse, he’s tough.”

Booyea is owned by the Ballinlough Syndicate, which includes Fenian Reilly and his brother John, who bred the winner.

THE Derby day attendance was given as 11,418, an increase of more than 500 on the previous year.

Over the three days of the Derby Festival a total of 24,232 racegoers came through the turnstiles, up about 600 on 2023.

While Saturday was badly hit with rain, Derby day was warm and dry and the atmosphere felt good throughout the enclosures. This reporter heard no complaints about queueing times or prices. In the grandstand the crowd stood respectfully for Amhrán na bhFiann before the big race and gave an All-Ireland cheer when it concluded, and when the stalls opened.

Los Angeles was probably the best backed horse of the day and was roared home. If there was a bigger cheer all day it came at 5.25pm when racegoers saw England concede a goal in their European Championship game against Slovakia.