Derby Day Double For Ryan

North Yorkshire trainer Kevin Ryan has his string in brilliant form and his purple patch continued with a 31-1 double at Epsom on Derby Day.

Wins for Sadeek and Desert Lord took the in-form handler's tally to 14 winners in the last 15 days, with the former following up his York debut success with a battling victory in the Vodafone Woodcote Stakes.

Ryan's youngster had beaten an Aidan O'Brien odds-on shot on the Knavesmire and was backed down to 6-4 favourite to go in again.

But he was made to work hard by outsider Going Straight and it was not until inside the last of the six furlongs that Sadeek asserted for a three-quarters of a length verdict in the hands of Neil Callan.

The son of Kyllachy is now on course for Royal Ascot.

'That was very pleasing. He's done it well,' Ryan said. 'He was just a bit inexperienced because it's a big day for him. When he came out on the track he just planted, but he has a great attitude.

'He's going the right way and as long as he comes home all right I think Royal Ascot would be the plan ? the Coventry.

'He has a super temperament and was just idling a bit there and Neil (Callan) was trying to give him an easy time because he was thinking of Royal Ascot.'

Sadeek is 6-1 from 8-1 with Cashmans for the Coventry Stakes.

Desert Lord showed tremendous speed to take the £75,000 Vodafone 'Dash' Stakes under Daragh O'Donohoe.

The 12-1 winner was always prominent on the stands side before getting on top two furlongs out. Running on strongly he held off Bond City (50-1) by one and a half lengths, with Continent (33-1) a neck back in third and Sierra Vista (16-1) fourth to complete a clean sweep for the bookies.

'Fair play to Neil because he could have jumped off Mutamared once the draw had been made but he wanted to stay loyal to the owners of that horse,' Ryan said.

'They are both good horses but on the day Desert Lord had the best of the draw.

'I don't know where we'll go with him but I imagine Mutamared will go for the Wokingham.'

Gerard Butler was over the moon when his stable stalwart Nayyir pulled his yard 'out of the fire' with a thrilling victory in the Vodafone Diomed Stakes.

The Blewbury trainer had gone five weeks without a winner, but that all changed when Frankie Dettori delivered the 11-2 chance with a late challenge that saw the tough eight-year-old land the Group Three prize by a neck from Boule D'Or.

Home Affairs, the 7-4 favourite, never got a run until all too late and was just half a length back in third.

'That was a really cool ride. I told Frankie just to go round and keep his foot on the rails and wait as long as possible and he did it absolutely perfectly,' said a delighted Butler. 'It would have been a disaster if he hadn't got a run.

'The horse has been in very good form working at home and in the last two weeks he's been looking very well.

'We've had very few runners because I knew there was something not right in the yard so I was very careful with them.

'If Nayyir hadn't run up to scratch I would have been looking for a bridge to jump off, but thankfully he did, he always pulls us out of the fire.

'We stopped with our horses about three weeks ago and regrouped and it looks as though we are through the eye of the storm, and hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll be back in action round about Royal Ascot ? that'll do.

'Nayyir won't go to Royal Ascot. We'll wait for Goodwood and the Lennox Stakes ? he's won it twice.'

Stage Gift had got punters off to a great start when he easily landed a huge gamble in the in the Vodafone Live! Stakes.

Sir Michael Stoute's progressive gelding was backed from a morning price of 11-2 into 5-2 favourite and duly obliged under a confident ride from Robert Winston.

Stage Gift was always travelling smoothly and cruised into the lead over two furlongs out and then ran on strongly to beat Military Cross by a length and a quarter.

He had been raised 12lb for his last win and faces another hike up the weights after this success.

Kerrin McEvoy completed a 103-1 double in the last two races on Alfie Noakes and Beaver Patrol.

He displayed a cool head to bring Alfie Noakes down the wide outside with a sweeping run to land a last-gasp victory in the Vodafone Simply Stakes.

Gavroche and Consular looked to have the race between but McEvoy had other ideas and gained the day by a neck and a head.

Winning trainer Amanda Perrett said: 'It's nice to be in the winner's circle on Derby Day, perhaps next year it will be after the big race.

'The horse didn't start very well, it wasn't the plan to hold him up but he's given him a cool ride ? nearly too cool.'

Beaver Patrol was a well-backed 7-1 shot for the Vodafone Sprint Stakes and landed the bets by a neck and the same from Prince Namid and Bahamian Pirate.

'If he gets in the Wokingham he'll run there,' said trainer Fulke Johnson-Houghton.

'He's got 8st 3lb at the moment and he'll get a 6lb penalty, so I think he probably will get in.'

A crowd of around 100,000 racegoers turned out on the Downs and basked in glorious sunshine for the 227th running of the Derby.

(C) PA Sport