Albany County pays Derby favourite compliment Runner-up to Derby favourite Darkness Falls last time, the Aidan O'Brien trained Albany County paid his stablemate a compliment when going one better in the Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden (Smullen Series) at Gowran Park. Sent off 8/15f under Wayne Lordan, the Camelot colt chased leader Ryano Bhino in the initial stages of the mile contest. Pushed along to lead over two-furlongs out, the market leader kept on well inside the final furlong to beat newcomer Mount Meru by three-quarters-of-a-length. Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: "He had two nice runs coming here. He was still very babyish. The run around here, turning track, coming down hill will be good experience for him. He's a horse you'll probably see the best of once he goes up in trip on a big galloping track. We'll probably get one more run into him. There are a couple of Group races coming up. He'll be a lovely middle distance horse for next year."
