Wings Of Eagles swoops for Derby shock
O’Brien colt powers past stablemate to land Classic Journeyman jockey Beggy wins race at first attempt
Wings Of Eagles, a 40-1 shot, produced one of the greatest shocks in the 238 years of the Derby by outrunning the two favourites in the final furlong to win the most valuable race ever run in Britain.
The triumph was doubly remarkable for the fact that Padraig Beggy, the unheralded winning jockey, had won only once this season and been suspended from racing for 15 months for taking cocaine in Australia in 2014.
It was a sixth Derby victory for Aidan O’Brien, bringing him within one of the record of seven and making him the most successful post-war trainer in the pursuit of the Flat’s premier prize. For Beggy, it marked an extraordinary feat for a jockey consigned to the outer margins by his drug ban, but who discovered a golden ticket through his role at O’Brien’s yard in Ballydoyle.
“I dreamt of it when I was young but I had nearly given up on it,” Beggy said. “I can’t describe it in words. I’ll go down in history – I’ll be remembered for something at least! I’ve travelled the whole way round the world but I had to go home to get one like this. I made a bad mistake in Australia. I was knocked down but I picked myself back up.”
Ryan Moore, O’Brien’s first jockey, had the choice of six Ballydoyle runners and appeared to have made the right choice for the Derby, which offered record prize money of £1.625million, when Cliffs Of Moher hit the front a furlong out. Even he thought he had won until Wings Of Eagles swept past 50 yards from the line to win by threequarters of a length.
O’Brien said of the winner: “His lad at home was delighted with him. We thought he was a very nice horse last year, he ran a lovely race at the back-end in France and then ran a lovely race at Chester. I couldn’t be happier, and obviously I’m delighted with Cliffs Of Moher but he’s a bit of a baby and his next run will be something to look forward to. Ryan’s horse got there and just got tired, but Padraig gave the winner a great ride. He had him in a lovely rhythm.”
Bookmaker Michael Tabor, one of Wings Of Eagles’ owners, admitted: “I certainly didn’t get stuck in at 40-1.”
Aidan O’Brien winning another Investec Derby should never come as a surprise but even he appeared genuinely astounded by the identity of his sixth winner when Wings Of Eagles, a 40-1 shot ridden by journeyman jockey Padraig Beggy, swooped past his better fancied stablemate, Cliffs Of Moher, in the closing stages to win the 238th running of the Classic at Epsom yesterday.
For a trainer whose horses generally win at short odds, it was the longest priced Derby winner since Snow Knight returned a 50-1 winner in 1974. Snow Knight made all, but Wings Of Eagles came from so far behind he was only picked up by the commentator deep inside the final furlong on his way to bagging the richest race ever run in Britain.
For the first mile of the race, Wings Of Eagles, nominally fifth or sixth in the Ballydoyle pecking order for this year’s race if you take jockey bookings as your guide, only had two runners behind him.
Up front, his stablemates, Douglas Macarthur and The Anvil, Ballydoyle’s pacemakers, had set a searching gallop and, while Douglas Macarthur hung on in there until the two-furlong marker, he was eventually caught and headed by the Frankie Dettori-ridden 7-2 favourite Cracksman.
However, Dettori’s dreams of a third Derby soon evaporated as the 5-1 shot Cliffs Of Moher, having made his way from a long way back, hit the front a furlong out. At that point it appeared for all the world that, from a choice of six, Ryan Moore, Ballydoyle’s first jockey, had picked the right colt.
But behind him still picking his way through traffic from the back was Beggy on Wings Of Eagles, a son of the 2011 Derby winner, Pour Moi.
He went through one gap so quickly, recalled the jockey afterwards, that he suddenly found himself on the heels of Dubai Thunder and a couple of times his run was interrupted by having to switch him round horses coming back at him.
When Wings Of Eagles saw daylight, though, it was as if he had just joined in. He flew up the outside, making up five lengths inside the final furlong, to catch Cliffs Of Moher 50 yards from the line before going on to win by threequarters of a length, with a neck back to Cracksman in third, and three-quarters of a length to the other Frankel colt in the field, Eminent, in fourth.
“I dreamed of winning the Derby when I was young,” said Beggy, 31, who has endured more downs than ups in his career and was making his Derby debut.
“And I’d nearly given up on it. It doesn’t matter what price they are if you’re riding for Aidan O’Brien, they all have a chance. I can’t describe the feeling in words, but I’ll go down in history – I’ll be remembered for something at least!”
The jockey, who joined O’Brien two years ago in January after returning from Australia with his tail between his legs following a 15-month drug ban, has only just become a regular on the Ballydoyle jockey roster, but had only registered four winners in three years and just a single win this season.
“I am a journeyman jockey,” he said holding court at the post-race press conference and giving the familiar winning party a blast of fresh air.
“I travelled the whole way round the world to get on a horse like this but it didn’t happen until I came back home. Aidan didn’t tell me about the ride until Thursday morning.”
Speaking about the race, the Dubliner explained: “I was on a good horse and he looked a million dollars. One jockey down at the start said he was the pick of the paddock. They rolled along from the start.
“I was a bit further back than I wanted but the horse was in a rhythm and breathing. I was behind Ryan and, though I was in a bad position, I was happy enough. I was waiting for Ryan to get the splits and I was going to follow him through.
“Turning in, I knew I’d pass the back half of the field – I wasn’t sure about the whole lot, though. Two out I thought I had a chance and a furlong out I thought I’d win. He’s actually won a shade cosily. I’ve won plenty of big handicaps but I could get used to this.”
On top of his surprise, O’Brien seemed genuinely pleased for a man who is clearly a popular and hardworking member of his staff.
Turning to the jockey in the postrace press conference, he said, touchingly: “You gave your horse an absolute peach.”
“I don’t know what happened there,” laughed the trainer reflecting on the 2017 Derby. “All I know is that Padraig gave the winner a brilliant ride.
He knew all about him. We knew Ryan’s horse was a bit of a baby and he just tired in the last 50 yards. We thought Wings Of Eagles would even get a bit further.”
Like everyone else, Moore thought he had his third Derby just about sewn up when he hit the front. “He ran a great race and I thought I had it won,” he conceded. “He got a bit tired in the last 50 yards.”
Back in third, Dettori, who was given a four-day whip ban, said: “Cracksman is still a bit raw and immature. He was on and off the bridle but came home good.”
The pre-race hoopla surrounding 500-1 outsider Diore Lia, namely whether or not a horse of such limited ability should be allowed to run in the Derby, came to nothing when the filly was withdrawn from the race at the 11th hour and 55th minute. The reason given for her absence was a pulled muscle.
For O’Brien and the Coolmore Partnership of John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor, winning the Derby has become an almost annual occurrence. For Padraig Beggy, however, it was the 2½-minute ride of a life that may never quite be the same again.