History On The Hoof

As well as showing great poise in pulling off a shock Epsom Derby victory, Padraig Beggy was impressive too in acknowledging his success was mostly down to Aidan O'Brien. As racing loyalty goes this was exceptional stuff. And Beggy took his opportunity in such style that there's no slight in pointing out the suspicion that if O'Brien can supply such an unlikely hero with an indelible place in racing history then there really does seem to be no limit to what he can do.

The immediate Derby focus was on a rider with little more than a handful of rides all season beating two of the world's great jockeys in the most coveted race of all. Considering Beggy's ban in Australia for a positive cocaine test, and the redemptive human aspect of such a result, it couldn't be any other way.

After all there's little that can be said that hasn't already been said about O'Brien or indeed the peerless power of John Magnier's Coolmore Stud operation. But unoriginal as it is the substantive story remains theirs and it's a narrative of unprecedented success which continues to redefine racing's record book.

Going back 40 years to The Minstrel, Wings Of Eagles is the ninth Derby winner Magnier can claim. If he remains an enigmatic figure for many that doesn't diminish his status as the most influential figure in world bloodstock. However it's inevitable the public zeroes in on the figure Magnier selected just over 20 years ago to fire his Coolmore ammunition.

O'Brien now has six Derby victories, equalling the tally of his Ballydoyle predecessor. 'MV' was 65 when he recorded the last of his six. 'AP' is still only 47. The Derby record is seven, shared by a trio of near-mythical names from the past, Robert Robson, John Porter and Fred Darling. Presumption is always dangerous but most will reckon it's only a matter of time before O'Brien betters them.

This is history on the hoof in front of our eyes. There may be some valid competition concerns about all this but no one can dispute the achievement. And there's no knowing its ultimate scale. A former colleague retired just as O'Brien took over at Ballydoyle and predicted the rest of us would be scribbling and talking about the new boy for the next 20 years. He wasn't wrong about much - just the timeframe.

As for Wings Of Eagles becoming the 20th Epsom Derby winner trained in Ireland, he looked an entirely worthy winner of an ordinary renewal.

However if he was a 4-1 favourite rather than a 40-1 outsider his effort in overcoming trouble and coming from second-last would have him acclaimed as a champion. As it is he will probably have to become the 19th to complete the Epsom-Curragh double next month to earn just acclaim. And it's interesting to ponder how many simply looked at the Epsom jockey arrangements and automatically dismissed his chance.

Just one further note on the man of the Epsom hour and that is how hard can it be for commentators and media across the Irish Sea to get their tongues around 'Padraig?'

It's not like the Irish language version of 'Patrick' is unknown in sporting circles. There's a guy called Harrington who's been knocking around golf for quite a while. His name has been strangled a few times around the globe over the years but closer to home everyone's got pretty used to it by now. Yet Wings Of Eagles was barely pulled up before his jockey was being widely referred to as 'Paddy.'

Now it doesn't do to get too chippy or indeed pedantic about this stuff. It also has to be factored in that Beggy was largely an unknown figure up to now. But it's surely not a big ask to try and get a name right. Apparently the new Derby winner doesn't refer to himself in the diminutive. So why not just go with what's on the card. It's not like its especially exotic.

None of which really should matter except that history isn't bunk when it comes to instinctive reactions and sadly there's no point pretending that 'Paddy' in an English accent can sound a lot more loaded than it does say in an American twang.

On to less emotive but much more essential matters and apparently agreement between the Turf Club and the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association on a protocol to allow drug testing on stud farms may finally be announced this week.

And it can hardly be said to be before time since it's almost a year and a half since such a protocol was a central recommendation of the Anti-Doping Task Force report. Central to any protocol though is the issue of notice that ITBA members get before any officials show up on their premises. There simply can't be any.

Over the last year the ITBA has changed its position on the number of days notice it wants its members to get. Apparently we were down to three days not so long ago. Maybe that demand has decreased even further since. But it doesn't matter.

The idea of notice for drug-testing is off the wall nuts. Legitimising it in writing would make any protocol that includes it worse than useless. No horse is so wild that it requires days to be caught. No stud wall is so high it can't - and shouldn't - be scaled immediately. If everything really is right and proper then everyone involved should be eager to prove it. That's only good business sense.

Finally, over the previous seven days, there have been nine race meetings in Ireland. Just three were on the flat. Twice as many were National Hunt fixtures. From Monday to Friday inclusive, Fairyhouse on Thursday was the only flat fixture. By any seasonal definition we are now in summer. But you'd hardly have guessed by the programme.