'Seconds Out' For Heavyweight Curragh Clash

Saxon Warrior doesn't look the great white hope anymore. The greats don't need excuses made for them. But if Saxon Warrior isn't what some of us more excitable types thought he might be there's still reason to believe he's up to getting revenge on Masar in the Irish Derby at the end of this month. Fingers crossed it happens because either way the real winner of a Ballydoyle-Godolphin superpower clash will be the Irish Derby itself.

The Curragh classic often gets sold in championship decider terms yet the reality regularly fails to match the pitch. When the Prix Du Jockey Club trip was cut in 2005 it undermined the old trope about the Epsom and Chantilly winners slugging it out for European supremacy on the Curragh. That such a move coincided with Aidan O'Brien's unprecedented dominance didn't help either.

It's only four years since Australia's 1-8 rout had authorities examining ways to bolster the Irish Derby's flagging prestige. The European Pattern Committee considered various juggles of the programme book. Different incentives were introduced to encourage participation. However circumstance now looks set to throw up the sort of head-to-head that trumps everything.

If Godolphin's half-dozen winners at last year's Royal Ascot suggested a resurgence in their fortunes then the implications of a first victory for the famous royal blue colours in the most coveted race of all can hardly be overstated.

That Masar is a son of New Approach, and was prepared in Dubai by their own team, might make his Derby victory the most satisfying victory of all for Sheikh Mohammed. That it came as part of a one-two with his son's Dee Ex Bee was sweet. And that it came against a colt lauded as perhaps the finest prospect Ballydoyle has seen in a long time probably made it sweeter still.

No doubt to the relief of a lot of people worldwide who make a living off the Sheikh's enthusiasm and competitive instinct it is the most powerful expression yet of an operation forced to bend the knee to their Irish rivals for so long but which now looks resurgent once again. And just because everyone says that's good for racing doesn't make it untrue.

There's a danger in framing this Derby in such terms that it will turn out to be a false dawn. There's been premature speculation before. But this feels different, not least because of the decision to end the dozen year boycott of buying yearlings by Coolmore yearlings which proved to be such a commercial own-goal.

The long-term implications of that are unknown but for now the prospect of a championship head-to-head at the Curragh between Ballydoyle and Godolphin is a mouth-watering one. It's the sort of clash the Irish Derby is programmed to host. It's perhaps too much to hope for a Fantastic Light-Galileo type contest but there's going to be a lot of dreaming done over the rest of this month.

Dreams of Saxon Warrior being the crowning glory of Aidan O'Brien's career now look to have been very premature indeed. The vibes were entirely positive at Epsom, the ground was OK and draw fears were overplayed. Everything was set. It just didn't happen. Ryan Moore's ride wasn't particularly inspired but neither did it cause defeat.

It's not like he didn't stay. In fact it looked like that's all he did. Yet this was a colt speedy enough to have left Masar in his slipstream at Newmarket in the Guineas. It was an odd performance by Saxon Warrior and even though sceptics might suggest O'Brien is rarely stuck for an excuse in defeat he might have been on to something when framing the run in 'babyish' terms.

It was Saxon Warrior's fifth start. He was a Group One winner at two. But there looked something immature about the way he floundered when asked to go and win the race after meeting interference. Blaming Epsom is a cop-out since Epsom form usually does work out. But with that experience under his belt bookmakers might have it right in making Saxon Warrior odds on again.

As for a couple of Derby postscripts the popular argument that restrictions should be made on the numbers of entries an owner or trainer can have in a race was hardly boosted by the Epsom result. The odds on none of Ballydoyle's five starters making the frame must have been huge yet it proved to be the outcome.

And time has proved that the Solario Stakes at Sandown last September to have been a pretty tasty Group Three with Masar beating the Irish Guineas hero Romanised by a couple of lengths.

It's interesting though to note how career routes vary. Arbalet finished third in that Solario. A fortnight ago he won an egg and spoon race in Carlisle worth just over four grand. Connect, who finished sixth, did make Derby day, winning the opening handicap. It's the Solario fourth, Purser, who has won his last two, who might yet make his mark at a decent level.

Some disgruntlement has been expressed at Kilbeggan's late cancellation on Sunday due to a breakdown in water supply. There's more than a hint of smart-arsery to much of it along the lines of can you believe a lack of water in Ireland. But it's hard to see what else could have been done. The idea of thousands of people on one site and not being able to flush toilets is not an attractive one.

Finally if the Derby proved a bitter disappointment for the Ballydoyle team then it was a very different story in the Oaks when Donnacha O'Brien once again hit the classic bulls-eye aboard Forever Together.

The teenager has really blossomed as a rider this season, bringing to mind Mick Kinane's verdict on his older brother Joesph in 2014 when commenting: "It is much easier to ride a good horse than a bad one. You're in so much more control and because it travels you can dictate what you want to do and what others do. So that makes you better, because confidence is everything."

Inevitably Joseph O'Brien had to deal with whispers of nepotism and so does his younger brother. But no can argue that both made the most of their opportunities and that's never a given with anyone. And it was very impressive to see that the latest O'Brien prodigy hasn't lost either a sense of perspective or humour.

After the Oaks he was asked what his best strengths as a jockey are. He didn't miss a beat - "I'm Aidan O'Brien's son!" Even the most ardent begrudger has to like that.