Minnie Hauk lands the Betfred Oaks at Epsom
Minnie Hauk – an impressive winner of the Listed Cheshire Oaks at last month's Boodles Chester May Festival – just got the better of her stable-mate in a thrilling battle to the line, scoring by a neck under stable jockey Ryan Moore with Godolphin's 1,000 Guineas heroine and 11-10 favourite Desert Flower four lengths back in third. Moore had the choice of O'Brien's three challengers in the Fillies' Classic – with Lingfield Oaks Trial winner Giselle, who eventually came home fifth, also entered. But he passed over her and the Musidora Stakes winner Whirl for the improving daughter of Frankel, Minnie Hauk, who had won for a second time in three career starts on the Roodee last month.
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Under Moore, Minnie Hauk was sat a couple of lengths off the pace set by Whirl and Wayne Lordan. When Whirl kicked for home after the turn around Tattenham Corner, Moore moved Minnie Hauk closer to challenge. The two Ballydoyle fillies quickly went clear of their rivals and in a protracted battle all the way up the home straight, both gave their all but it was just Minnie Hauk who prevailed by a neck.
READ MORE: Horse Power: The Lion In Winter to roar back with victory in the Betfred Derby at Epsom
READ MORE: Jan Brueghel crowned a winner in the Coronation Cup at Epsom
O'Brien is now closing on 19th century trainer Robert Robson's 13 victories in the Epsom Classic as Minnie Hauk followed the likes of his former Oaks scorers including Alexandrova, Minding, Love, Snowfall and his most recent victor Tuesday (2022) into the winner's enclosure. Having won a 30th Group One at the Derby Festival with Jan Brueghel's success in the Coronation Cup earlier in the day, Moore and O'Brien were again the men for the big occasion.
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O'Brien said: 'I'm delighted with her; she's very classy and Ryan gave her a beautiful ride. He loved her the last day (at Chester) and then again today, so she's very exciting. She's obviously learning - she went to Chester and learnt a lot and was still green, and she was always improving from mid-race. What you love about her is that she's a great traveller; she has a lot of class. Ryan felt he was going very easily today on her and usually what that means is that she will be able to step up a couple of grades into even higher-class races. It's lovely for the lads and for everyone to have another filly like that.
'Colin [Keane] was delighted with his filly (Giselle, fifth); he said she's a bit of a baby and a bit weak, so she will improve. Whirl (second) ran a great race; she stays and obviously has a lot of class too. We were going to go forward if no one else wanted to. Ryan was going to go forward, and so was Wayne. Obviously Colin didn't want to go forward; his filly was too keen and we all knew that; he was going to try to get her to relax and see what would happen. I don't think it was too fast a pace. I'm delighted with the way it all went.
'Those Wootton Bassetts (Whirl's sire) – obviously they have speed but they also stay. Obviously she got a mile and a quarter at York by staying and we thought there was a chance she would get the mile and a half, but we weren't sure. Ryan said that he would have been happier going a bit faster in the first half of race, and usually the sign of a very classy filly, so that means she'll be very comfortable standing up against the older horses when the time comes. We'll see. I'm delighted for everyone. It's a big team and everyone plays their part – I'm just the observer, really, and it's the lads who, every year, keep these pedigrees going and make sure we have these horses to be able to work with.'
Moore, who was wining a fifth Oaks, said: "She began well and travelled strong early and I just wanted to make sure I was in a position to do what I wanted when I wanted. She just travelled a bit too strong and fell asleep on me then after I asked her to relax. The filly in front is a good filly and kept building the whole way and I just had to ask my filly to go to her and she quickened up very smartly and got there easily. Whirl came back and my filly found a little bit more. I think she'll improve for the experience and as far as three-year-old fillies go she's very good.
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"She'll be (going for the) Irish Oaks/Nassau Stakes, that sort of thing, and we'll go from there. She's a lightly-raced filly and should improve."
Moore added: "I rode some exceptional fillies in this race, Love and Minding spring to mind and Snow Fairy as well. She's got a way to go, but she's open to any amount of improvement."
Lordan, who rode runner-up Whirl, said: 'I've gone a nice gallop as we felt that she would stay. She was loving it out the front; she kept extending well. Ryan went a good half-length off me. I think both fillies were just coming to the end of their tether and having a bit of a roll around, but I felt we had been well held at the line. I couldn't fault my filly – she ran a stormer. She's a lovely filly and she tries hard. She's very straightforward, very uncomplicated and she shows you everything she has.'
Charlie Appleby, trainer of the third-placed Desert Flower, said: 'It just looked like she got a bit unbalanced coming down the hill and hit a bit of a flat spot just at the point you don't want to, but take nothing away from the first two as they just kept galloping. We all think she got it [the trip] and personally I'd like to see her in something like the Yorkshire Oaks, on a nice galloping track. We'll give her a break now. Will just thought she'd be more comfortable on a sounder surface than she got today. She won on slow ground in the Fillies' Mile, but slow ground on a track like this might have been a consideration. Back on a more conventional track will hopefully be more her gig.'
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Keane, who was on board fifth-placed Giselle, said: 'She ran okay. She was a little bit in my hands in the first half then settled as we went on. She feels like a filly who lengthens and gallops rather than quickens, but it was a nice run.'
Jockey Jim Crowley said of seventh-placed Elwateen: 'She was disappointing. We were beaten turning in so we can't blame the trip. I had a lovely run round but it just didn't happen.'
The David O'Meara-trained Mirsky (6-1) won the Trustatrader Handicap, under Oisin Murphy, by a comfortable length-and-a-quarter from Alpha Circus (8-1) with the winner's stable-mate Julia Augusta (40-1) a further three-quarters-of-a-length back third and Ebt's Guard (9-2) another neck adrift in fourth.
The ex-French winner backed up a recent win at Thirsk and could now head to Royal Ascot for the Royal Hunt Cup. Trainer O'Meara said: 'He ran well a few times last year without winning, but we always felt he had something like this in him. It maybe took us a while to get the hang of him, but he's won his last two now, which is great. The Hunt Cup would be a possibility now. Julia Augusta ran well in third. She'd run well here last year in the Diomed but hadn't run before this season. Bopedro just found it a bit sharp here but was staying on in fifth, so they all ran well.'
Winning rider Murphy added: 'That was good placing by David, who really fancied him today. I've ridden plenty of nice winners for him here and it was nice of him to put me up again.'
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UPI
09-06-2025
- UPI
Coolmore, trainer Aiden O'Brien enjoyed Derby weekend at Epsom
Jantar Mantar cruises to victory in Sunday's Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse, earning a "Win and You're In" spot in the Breeders' Cup Mile in November. Photo by and courtesy of Masakazu Takahashi June 9 (UPI) -- While American fans and punters were focused on a stakes-filled weekend at Saratoga, much of the rest of the world had eyes on Epsom Downs in England this past weekend, where the Irish Coolmore "lads" and trainer Aidan O'Brien carried all before them. Jantar Mantar grabbed the mantle of leading Japanese miler with a smooth victory in Sunday's Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse, earning a spot in the Breeders' Cup Mile into the bargain. England The weekend couldn't have gone much better for the Coolmore squad at Epsom, as Aidan O'Brien notched his 11th Derby victory Saturday after posting a 1-2 finish in the Betfred Oaks and a win in the Group 1 Coronation Cup on Friday. Admittedly, the Derby triumph came with a horse most would have regarded antepost as no better than second-best of three O'Brien runners. But it only matters what goes on the board after the race, and that was the name Lambourn, who led virtually every step of the 1 1/2 miles and held on stubbornly for jockey Wayne Lordan to win by 3 3/4 lengths over Lazy Griff. Coolmore's main chance and the race favorite, Delacroix, had trouble early in the race and lost position. Jockey Ryan Moore said that essentially eliminated him from any chance and he got home ninth, passing some tired rivals. The outfit's third runner, The Lion In Winter, reported 14th, tiring late. Lambourn is a son of 2024 Derby winner Australia, who in turn was sired by 2001 Derby winner Galileo. O'Brien said Lambourne's performance was not unexpected in the Ballydoyle yard. "Wayne rides him in all his work and, after his last piece, he told me he's absolutely there," O'Brien said, according to Racing Post. "He knew exactly what this horse was and what he was capable of doing and the word in our place was that Wayne wanted to ride the filly [Oaks runner-up Whirl] and him." "He's a Derby winner by a Derby winner by a Derby winner. It's pretty extraordinary," Coolmore's M V Magnier said. "I don't want to sound like a broken record, but that's how we win a Derby -- by breeding precocious horses that are quick enough to do it." Lordan and Coolmore filly Whirl almost pulled off a similar feat a day earlier in the Oaks, leading until the final strides before yielding to the better-fancied stable companion Minnie Hauk by a mere neck. That pair handed a first career defeat to the favorite, Desert Flower, winner of the Betfred 1000 Guineas among her five previous victories. The Godolphin filly never looked comfortable while stretching out to the 1 1/2 miles. She flattened out when asked by William Buick and was third, 4 lengths adrift of Whirl, at the finish. Minnie Hauk, a Frankel filly, was making her fourth start and first since winning the Cheshire Oaks at Chester on May 7. "Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and she's a very exciting filly, Racing Post quoted O'Brien as saying. "She's obviously learning and she's going to improve with racing." While O'Brien might have been comfortable watching the final furlong of the Oaks with a 1-2 finish seemingly in bag, he would have been less so in the late stages of the Coronation Cup. In that, Moore got Jan Brueghel to the front right about at the 2-furlong marker only to see Mickael Barzalona urge the favorite, Calandagan, up on his outside. The two were on even terms with a furlong to go, with neither yielding until Jan Brueghel inched clear in the final strides to win by 1/2 length. The 4-year-old Galileo colt now has won four of five starts and finished second in the other. "He stays the trip very well, he's an uncomplicated horse," Moore said on ITV Racing. "Aidan had him, as he always does, in unbelievable shape. He showed a great attitude." Japan His connections have yet to figure out why Jantar Mantar finished 13th in last December's Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile -- by far his worst-ever performance. But they likely care less about what happened six months earlier after the 4-year-old cruised to a trouble-free win in Sunday's Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse -- his third top-level victory. The Palace Malice colt, with Yuga Kawada up, took command while cresting the stretch hill and reported 1 1/2 lengths ahead of runner-up Gaia Force. The favorite, Soul Rush, last seen winning the Group 1 Dubai Turf over Romantic Warrior, settled for third. Jantar Mantar earned a "Win and You're In" spot in the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar. Soul Rush already owns a ticket to that heat, thanks to the Dubai win. After a clean break from the middle of the 18-horse field, Kawada held an eager Jantar Mantar in check just behind the early leaders, while sticking to a path well off the inside rail. Turning into the stretch, he let the colt run, and he responded to grab the lead and finished with enthusiasm. Kawada said the race, from his perspective, wasn't as easy as it as Jantar Mantar was keen after his six-month vacation after Hong Kong. "The colt broke well and was in a good position in third to start," Kawada said. "But then he got a little over-excited as horses came from behind, so I got a little worried. The colt just barely managed to contain himself as much as he could after that." The son of Palace Malice won the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at age 2 and the NHK Mile Cup last season. "I knew he would become a potential miler when he won the Asahi Hai as a 2-year-old and was certain he was the best miler in Japan when taking the NHK Mile Cup title," the jockey said. Today, he's justified his talent, so I'm happy for that."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Lambourn gives Aidan O'Brien a record-extending 11th victory in the Betfred Derby at Epsom
Trainer Aidan O'Brien's domination of the Betfred Derby continued as Lambourn (15-2) led almost from start to finish to provide the Ballydoyle maestro with a record-extending 11th victory in the Epsom Classic on Saturday afternoon. Advertisement Arguably the Irish trainer's third choice after 2-1 favourite Delacroix, the pick of stable jockey Ryan Moore, and former ante-post market leader The Lion In Winter, Lambourn proved he wasn't just making up the numbers with a superb front-running display under Wayne Lordan, who was winning the Derby for a first time. For O'Brien it was a second clean sweep of the three Group Ones at the Derby Festival in the same year. In 2012 Camelot won the Derby after 20-1 shot Was had won the Oaks and St Nicholas Abbey had claimed the second of his three Coronation Cup victories. After Jan Brueghel had won the Coronation Cup and Minnie Hauk claimed the Oaks on Friday – both under Moore – Lambourn brought up the big-race treble. READ MORE: Spiritual wins the opener on Betfred Derby day at Epsom READ MORE: Horse Power: The Lion In Winter to roar back with victory in the Betfred Derby at Epsom Advertisement Lambourn, who had been second to stable-mate Delacroix in the 1m2f Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown on his seasonal return at the end of March, reversed the form in empathic fashion stepped up again in trip to 1m4f. The son of O'Brien's 2014 Derby hero Australia had showed his ability and staying power when impressing when landing the Group Three Chester Vase on the Roodee last month. And he again showed that stamina, as Delacroix trailed home ninth and The Lion In Winter 14th Lambourn powered to a three-and-three-quarters-of-a-length from the Charlie Johnston-trained Lazy Griff (50-1), under Christophe Soumillion – the same distance as when he was also runner-up at Chester. Tennessee Stud (28-1) – trained by O'Brien's son Joseph, who partnered Lambourn's sire Australia and Camelot (2012) to Derby glory – was another length back in third with New Ground (50-1) a neck further adrift in fourth. O'Brien, who was winning a record-extending 11th Derby and a third in a row after Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy triumphed, said: "Wayne gave him him an incredible ride. I'm delighted for Wayne, he's a great fellow, he does so much hard work. Everybody knew what he was going to do, he's very straightforward, Wayne knew he'd stay so he went forward. He's a very fit, genuine horse. He's a typical Australia so it's incredible and I'm delighted for Wayne. "It's incredible for everyone that we trained Australia to win the Derby and his sire as well, Galileo. I'm just a small part of it, everybody puts in so much, I can't tell you what a privelege it is. Australia was a great Derby winner and his horses are so straightforward, just like him. Advertisement "Lambourn was second to Delacroix first time out and we took him to Chester and we know you have to be on your game and you have to stay and that's the way he was. Ryan loved him at Chester, but he couldn't ride them all. I'd say he's probably an Irish Derby horse, but he will get further as well, he's very uncomplicated." On his other two Derby runners, O'Brien added: "Ryan said he got taken out of his ground over halfway so his chance was over, Colin (Keane) said The Lion In Winter wasn't going forward so it was maybe the track or the ground, we'll see. Wayne obviously got the fractions 100 per cent and Joseph's horse ran a stormer in third, so it's unbelievable." Jockey Wayne Lordan and trainer Aidan O'Brien with the trophy after winning the Betfred Derby with Lambourn at the 2025 Betfred Derby Festival at Epsom Downs Racecourse on Saturday, June 7 2025 -Credit:PA Cork-born Lordan, who turned 43 last month and has been working at the Ballydoyle stable for the past eight years, was delighted to land a first Derby. He said: "I knew he'd set a good gallop. His ears were pricked. I knew he had plenty left. He's a horse that we know stays well. So I just thought, anybody that want's to get to get to me, will have to stay well, and it'll be tough for them. It's one of the greatest races for any jockey as all they want to do is win a derby."
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Lambourn storms to Derby triumph with 11th victory for Aidan O'Brien
'Everything in Ballydoyle is about Epsom,' Aidan O'Brien said on Saturday after the Derby, and perhaps a little superfluously, as Lambourn's 13-2 success in the colts' Classic had just sealed a clean sweep of the three Group One events at the meeting. Lambourn was not the first-string in the trainer's three-strong team – Delacroix, the 2-1 favourite with Ryan Moore in the saddle was only ninth – but like every other horse at the yard, he had been prepared like an Epsom horses from his first days at the yard. Like Minnie Hauk, Friday's Oaks winner, he had also been sent to Chester's May meeting, where the undulations and turns are similar to those at Epsom, to complete his preparation for Saturday's race, and having been sent straight into the lead by Wayne Lordan, his jockey, he gained another length or two on his field with a slick, assured passage down the hill and around Tattenham Corner. Advertisement Related: Lambourn wins the 2025 Derby in dominant fashion: horse racing – live Lazy Griff, who was one-and-a-half lengths behind Lambourn in the Chester Vase, had also been close to the pace from the off and briefly threatened to make inroads into Lambourn's lead from three out, but Lambourn found more when Lordan asked for a final effort and he was nearly four lengths in front of Lazy Griff (50-1) and Christophe Soumillon at the line. Tennessee Stud, another outsider at 28-1, was third for trainer Joseph O'Brien, the winning jockey aboard Australia, Lambourn's sire, in 2014. Lambourn, in fact, is a third-generation Derby winner for O'Brien, as Australia was sired by Galileo, the first of his record total of 11 Derby winners back in 2001. 'He's a lazy horse, and Chester is always great place for putting an edge on a horse,' O'Brien said. 'It makes them quick and wakes them up, there's a great atmosphere there and there on the turn. So we always think Chester really sharpens them up, it gives them quick feet and we always send good horses there. Advertisement 'Lambourn was second to Delacroix [in the Ballysax Stakes] first time out, and we took him to Chester and Ryan loved him at Chester, but he couldn't ride them all. I'd say he's probably an Irish Derby horse [for his next race], but he will get further as well. 'Ryan said he got taken out of his ground over halfway [on Delacroix] so his chance was over. Colin [Keane] said The Lion In Winter wasn't going forward, so it was maybe the track or the ground.' For Lordan, who picked up the ride on Lambourn when Moore opted for Delacroix, this was a first Derby victory and as close to an armchair ride as it gets around Epsom. 'He's a lovely, genuine horse,' Lordan said. 'When I jumped I just wanted to get him into a stride because he's a horse that stays well, and races lazily also. Advertisement 'He was enjoying it in front and his ears were pricked and I was able to go forward good and early. I did feel [going into the race] that he was a bit under-rated, because he's not a flashy horse, he just goes on the bridle and does his own thing. The other horses are good travellers and quicken, mine is just genuine and goes with the flow, but when you look for him, there's loads in there.' Lambourn is already priced up at a shade of odds-on for the Irish Derby later this month, while Charlie Johnston, the trainer of Lazy Griff, may pick between the Irish Derby or the Grand Prix de Paris for the runner-up before a run in the St Leger at Doncaster in September. A big squad of owners from the big Middleham Park Racing syndicate that owns Lazy Griff will be guaranteed wherever he runs. Perth 1.40 Emily Love 2.12 Away She Goes 2.47 Heart Above 3.22 Schmilsson 3.57 Stans The Man 4.32 Can't Beat History 5.07 Donso Star 5.42 True Destiny Advertisement Goodwood 1.50 Fine Interview 2.25 Stellar Sunrise 3.00 Miss Apres 3.35 Tattycoram 4.10 Aggagio (nb) 4.45 Hamish 5.20 Nariko (nap) 'We told as many people as would listen that we couldn't understand why he was such a huge price,' Johnston said. 'Lambourn was 13-2 yet this morning we were 100-1. It's safe to say the Chester form held up well. 'I'm surprised how well he handled the track because that was always my biggest concern, because he's quite a heavy-topped horse and we felt if the ground wasn't as soft as it was, he wouldn't be here.'
