The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Wings Of Eagles lifts Beggy to dream win
Childhood dreams turned into reality for unheralded jockey Padraig Beggy after he gained a fairytale success aboard huge outsider Wings Of Eagles in the Investec Derby at Epsom on Saturday.
Having contemplated hanging up his riding boots, the 31-yearold was thankful he decided otherwise as he made his first ride in the world-famous race a winning one, getting the 40-1 chance home to give Aidan O’Brien a sixth Derby success.
There had been plenty of talk about the mighty Frankel siring his first Classic winner, and for a moment in the home straight it looked as though Cracksman was going to deliver when taking over from the eventual winner’s stablemate Douglas Macarthur just over a furlong out.
Despite Frankie Dettori being more animated than he ideally would have liked to have been aboard the 7-2 favourite early on, he got the response he asked for, but he was soon joined – and passed – by his chief market rival Cliffs Of Moher under Ryan Moore.
After mastering Cracksman, Moore and O’Brien seemed poised to go one better than with Rhododendron 24 hours earlier in the Oaks, but, although having only a couple of horses behind them turning in, Beggy and the son of 2011 Derby hero Pou Moi had other ideas.
Hitting his stride, the winner shot past his better-fancied stable companion inside the dying strides to defeat him by three-quarters of a length, with Cracksman a further neck away in third.
Beggy said: “I dreamt of it fairly young, but it is hard to get on the good ones. I nearly gave it up. Fair play to Aidan O’Brien, he put me on.
“It doesn’t matter what price they are when you are riding for Aidan. I’m delighted for the horse and the lads that ride him.
“This means the world. The main thing for me is that my family are home watching this. I’m thrilled, but they will be even more thrilled. I don’t get to sit on many beasts like this at the races, so I’m going to enjoy it.
“I’d nearly given up on the big days, but Aidan O’Brien has made it happen. It’s happy days.”
He went on: “I was on a good horse and he looked a million dollars. A furlong down I said I’m nearly going to win because of the momentum I’d picked up, and I won a shade cosy in the end.
“It’s brilliant. I will go down in history that I have won the Derby and that is good enough. I will be remembered for something.”