Saxon Warrior bids to restore his reputation in Irish Derby

Aidan O’Brien’s 2000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior is on course for the Irish Derby at the Curragh on 30th June.

A brilliant victory at Newmarket meant that the son of Deep Impact started odds-on favourite for the Epsom Derby. Having won over a mile as a two-year-old, most pundits felt that Saxon Warrior was an ideal Derby prospect. Even the best horse racing tipsters struggled to find a flaw in his profile.

Ryan Moore had to sit and suffer on the far rail in the Derby after being drawn in stall one. He was not ideally placed to launch his challenge but Saxon Warrior did not find the acceleration that he had shown at Newmarket. He eventually came home in fourth place, four and a half lengths behind Masar. Saxon Warrior had finished ahead of Masar (third) and Roaring Lion (fifth) in Guineas but both of those colts reversed the form at Epsom. The defeat saved bookmakers from a multi-million pound pay-out.

The Ballydoyle team were happy to let the dust settle after Epsom and have decided to stay at a mile and a half. The prospects of a remarkable thirteenth Irish Derby win for O’Brien received a further boost with the news that Masar will not run at the Curragh. Charlie Appleby’s colt will head to Sandown on 7th July for the ten-furlong Coral Eclipse Stakes.

Saxon Warrior’s dam only raced once beyond a mile when finishing fifth in the 2012 Epsom Oaks. O’Brien refused to blame the defeat on a lack of stamina and dismissed thoughts of reverting to a mile for the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Bookmakers initially installed Saxon Warrior at 6-4 for the Irish Derby but those odds have been slashed to 4-7 following Masar’s defection.

One horse who could yet emerge as a serious threat is Epsom runner-up De Ex Bee. Mark Johnston’s colt stayed on strongly to finish a length and a half behind Masar. He had previously finished second to Young Rascal in the Chester Vase but left that rival trailing in seventh place in the Classic. De Ex Bee would have to be supplemented but the wide galloping track at the Curragh looks made for him.

Delano Roosevelt
(c)Healy Racing PhotosO’Brien’s Delano Roosevelt, the choice of more than one respected tipster, finished seven lengths behind his stable companion in sixth place. It is difficult to see him making up that gap while the same applies to The Pentagon (eighth) and Kew Gardens (ninth).

A victory in the Irish Derby would open up all sorts of options for Saxon Warrior later in the season. The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe would be the obvious targets. Another defeat would cast serious doubt on his stamina and the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on 15th September could become his main objective.

Prior to the Epsom Derby, estimates had put the prospective stud value of Saxon Warrior in the region of £50 million. Those figures have been revised sharply downwards following his shock defeat. A wide margin victory at the Curragh could yet see the colt restored to superstar status.