2019 Epsom Derby
Horse raceEpsom Derby
LocationEpsom Downs Racecourse
Date1 June 2019
Winning horseAnthony Van Dyck
Winning jockeySeamie Heffernan
Winning trainerAidan O'Brien
Previous2018
Next2020

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Also Ran

The 2019 Epsom Derby was the 240th annual running of the Derby horse race and took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 1 June 2019. The race was sponsored by Investec. The winner was the Coolmore Stud's bay colt Anthony Van Dyck, ridden by Seamie Heffernan and trained at Ballydoyle in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien.

Race synopsis

Entries and race build-up

The initial entry for the 2019 Epsom Derby, announced in December 2017, consisted of 338 yearlings whose owners paid £560 for each horse entered. The number of entries was a decrease of 110 on the initial entry for the 2018 race, and included 11 horses from the Godolphin organisation and 45 from the Coolmore Stud. Khalid Abdullah entered 18 horses and five-time winning owner Aga Khan IV had 22 entries. Queen Elizabeth II entered 5 horses for the race.[1][2] A further 14 horses were added at the second entry stage in April 2019, at a cost to their owners of £9,000 for each horse entered. The second entries included three from Ireland and three from Godolphin, including eventual runners Line of Duty and Madhmoon.[3] The Blue Riband Trial Stakes at Epsom on 24 April offered a free Derby entry to the winner; however the successful horse in 2019, Cape of Good Hope was already amongst the Derby entries.[4] A final entry stage took place in May 2019 when Dante Stakes winner Telecaster and Chester Vase winner Sir Dragonet were added to the field at a cost of £85,000 each.[5]

The field for the 2019 Derby took on its final shape on Thursday 30 May when thirteen horses were declared to run with entries Cape of Good Hope and Surfman being withdrawn in favour of a run in the French equivalent race, the Prix du Jockey Club. The runners included seven trained by Aidan O'Brien. Sir Dragonet was favourite at the time of the declaration at odds of 11 to 4, with Broome and Telecaster just behind in the betting at 9 to 2 and 5 to 1 respectively.[6]

Race card

NoDrawHorseWeight (st–lb)JockeyTrainerOwner
17Anthony Van Dyck9–0Seamie HeffernanAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
212Bangkok9–0Silvestre de SousaAndrew BaldingKing Power Racing Co Ltd
38Broome9–0Donnacha O'BrienAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
45Circus Maximus9–0Frankie DettoriAidan O'Brien (IRE)Flaxman Stables, Tabor, Smith, Magnier
53Hiroshima9–0Brett DoyleJohn RyanGraham Smith-Bernal
69Humanitarian9–0Robert HavlinJohn GosdenSheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing
711Japan9–0Wayne LordanAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
81Line Of Duty9–0James DoyleCharlie ApplebyGodolphin
96Madhmoon9–0Chris HayesKevin Prendergast (IRE)Hamdan Al Maktoum
1010Norway9–0Jamie SpencerAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
1113Sir Dragonet9–0Ryan MooreAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
124Sovereign9–0Padraig BeggyAidan O'Brien (IRE)Tabor, Smith, Magnier
132Telecaster9–0Oisin MurphyHughie MorrisonCastle Down Racing

Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

The race

The race started at 4:33 pm in bright sunshine on ground officially described as good to firm. Sovereign set the early pace from Norway with Telecaster and Circus Maximus close behind ahead of Line of Duty and Sir Dragonet. The order remained largely unchanged until the horses entered the straight, where Sovereign gave way to Norway and the chasing group fanned out to obtain racing room.[7] Approaching the last quarter mile Sir Dragonet hit the front closely pressed by Madhmoon to his left, while Broome began to make rapid headway on the outside. Entering the final furlong Sir Dragonet held a narrow lead over Madhmoon with Broome in third but new challengers emerged in the form of Anthony Van Dyck, who had been switched to the inside, and Japan who launched a run on the wide outside. In a "blanket finish" Anthony Van Dyck took the lead in the last 100 yards and prevailed by half a length with Madhmoon getting the better of Japan, Broome and Sir Dragonet in a four-way photo for second.[8] Circus Maximus was four and a half lengths back in sixth, one place ahead of the first British-trained finisher Humanitarian.[9]

Full result

Dist *HorseJockeyTrainerSP
1Anthony Van DyckSeamie HeffernanAidan O'Brien (IRE)13/2
2½MadhmoonChris HayesKevin Prendergast (IRE)10/1
3nseJapanWayne LordanAidan O'Brien (IRE)20/1
4shdBroomeDonnacha O'BrienAidan O'Brien (IRE)4/1
5shdSir DragonetRyan MooreAidan O'Brien (IRE)11/4 fav
64½Circus MaximusFrankie DettoriAidan O'Brien (IRE)10/1
71¾HumanitarianRobert HavlinJohn Gosden33/1
8shdNorwayJamie SpencerAidan O'Brien (IRE)33/1
91Line of DutyJames DoyleCharlie Appleby25/1
101¼SovereignPadraig BeggyAidan O'Brien (IRE)50/1
112¼HiroshimaBrett DoyleJohn Ryan100/1
121¼BangkokSilvestre de SousaAndrew Balding9/1
136TelecasterOisin MurphyHughie Morrison5/1

Winner's time: 2 min 33.38 sec
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter; nse = nose; shd = short head.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Records

Anthony Van Dyck gave Aidan O'Brien a seventh winner of the race after Galileo, High Chaparral, Camelot, Ruler of the World, Australia and Wings of Eagles, equaling the records of Robert Robson, John Porter and Fred Darling. The Coolmore partners Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor were winning the race for a record eighth time. The winning time of 2:33.38 was the seventh fastest time for the Derby at Epsom. The first six finishers were trained in Ireland, bettering the result of 2009 when the first five were Irish-trained. Seamie Heffernan won the race at his twelfth attempt, after finishing second in 2009 and 2010 and third in 2016 and 2017. Anthony Van Dyck's foaling date of 19 May was the latest of any Derby winner since Erhaab (24 May) in 1994.

Form analysis

Two-year-old races

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2018

Road to Epsom

Early-season appearances in 2018 and trial races prior to running in the Derby:

Subsequent Group 1 wins

Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby:

See also

References

References

  1. ^ Parker, Henry. "Yearling entries for 2019 Derby revealed". Racing Post. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Yearling entries for 2019 Investec Derby". Thoroughbred News. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  3. ^ "LINE OF DUTY AND MADHMOON HEADLINE 14 SECOND ENTRIES FOR 2019 INVESTEC DERBY". The Jockey Club - Epsom Downs. 3 April 2019.
  4. ^ Wood, Greg (24 April 2019). "Cape Of Good Hope in happy return at Epsom after Arthur Kitt stumbles". The Guardian
  5. ^ Cook, Chris (27 May 2019). "Telecaster and Sir Dragonet supplemented for Derby". The Guardian
  6. ^ Dietz, Andrew (30 May 2019). "Derby final field: Aidan O'Brien to saddle more than half the runners". Racing Post
  7. ^ "Epsom Derby: Anthony Van Dyck wins showcase race for Aidan O'Brien". BBC Sport. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Anthony Van Dyck wins the Derby to earn O'Brien place in record books". Guardian. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Epsom Derby result". Racing Post. 1 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Anthony Van Dyck - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Broome - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Circus Maximus - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Japan - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  14. ^ "Line of Duty - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Madhmoon - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Norway - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Sovereign - Race Record & Form". Racing Post. Retrieved 31 May 2019.