Remarkable victory for daddy’s boys
Joseph and Donnacha stun Aidan as Latrobe takes the Irish Derby
JUST as rowing has the O’Donovan brothers, racing has the O’Briens, Joseph and Donnacha. They combined yesterday to land Ireland’s most illustrious Flat race, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby with 14/1 shot, Latrobe.
Under a burning sun, the Curragh outcome was a family affair as the O’Brien siblings edged out Dad Aidan, who saddled the second, third, fourth and fifth home in a thrilling renewal.
‘I’d have been sick if I’d chinned the two lads,’ said O’Brien senior as he accepted the outcome with a combination of magnanimity and paternal pride.
O’Brien half-joked afterwards that he ‘could go quietly now’ as he saw his eldest son achieve an Irish Derby on his training CV having just turned 25, a year younger than his father when he won the first of his 12 derby triumphs with Desert King in 1997.
While O’Brien senior has no intention of abdicating his throne, his heir is apparent as a training legend in son Joseph who is achieving extraordinary things.
Since November last, victories in the Melbourne Cup (Rekindling), Irish Gold Cup (Edwulf) and now his first Irish Derby with Latrobe have established his credentials as a trainer capable of remarkable feats. ‘This is unbelievable, it’s up there with the best days. I’d have been happy with finishing in the first four,’ said the winning trainer. With innate modesty, O’Brien played down how far he has come in such a short space of time, stressing the support of his owners, and his staff. But this kid is something special – and everyone in the racing game knows it.
As preparation for his first runner in the Derby, he ‘hacked around’ the Curragh for RTE’s big-race buildup on turf he knows well from his Irish Derby wins on Camelot (2012) and (Australia 2014).
He then spent the countdown to the big race yesterday offering expert analysis with Ted Walsh and Robert Hall by the parade ring.
‘Sure, it took my mind off it (the Derby),’ he said. The O’Brien brothers had hatched a plan for Latrobe, with the intention of ‘dropping in’ but a sluggish start to the race
prompted Donnacha to seize the initiative as he hurried Latrobe into a prominent position on the shoulder of leader, Rostropovich.
‘That move was the winning of the race,’ said Joseph later.
Turning into the long demanding straight, Latrobe was perfectly placed to thrown down the gauntlet to Rostroprovich who responded gamely under Paddy Beggy, last year’s Epsom Derby winner.
On the outside, Ryan Moore loomed on the favourite Saxon Warrior and by the two-furlong pole, the race rested between this trio as others sent out distress signals.
In the final burst for the post, Saxon Warrior seemed to run out of juice and while Rostropovich rallied on the rail, in between Latrobe responded to Donnacha’s driving to prevail by half a length.
He was the longest priced winner in 10 years while this was the first time in 153 renewals of the great race that brothers were successful as trainer-jockey.
At 19, the pilot is the same tender age as his big brother was when he won his first Irish Derby on Camelot, the sire of Latrobe, and his joy was evident post-race as he reflected on that crucial tactical switch. ‘I didn’t plan to be that forward, but the pace was slow. I held my position and he stayed really well to the line. It’s pretty incredible and it’s not really sinking in yet. It’s a special moment,’ he said.
‘We’ve always thought he was a really good horse and he’s never run a bad race, but we just thought a few times that he’d run better. ‘He’s shown today that he’s very good.’
So too did Donnacha who is a chip off his brother’s block, even if he is likely to run into the same weight restrictions which forced Joseph to take a career change at the age of 22.
For the moment, that crossroad can wait as Donnacha is a special talent in silks. As for his brother, he is overseeing a huge training operation in Owning Hill, County Kilkenny where he has almost 200 horses, and all sorts of targets mapped out for them.
‘I get a much greater kick out of training winners than I did riding winners,’ he said.
This victory was worth €855,500 to the connections, headed by owner Lloyd Williams, the Australian business mogul who also own Rekindling. There is plenty in that bounty to go around the trainer and jockey, not that money is a motive for them anymore. As O’Brien senior quipped afterwards. ‘I stopped giving my sons pocket money long ago.’ Yesterday, it was the master trainer’s turn to have his own pockets picked.