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Irish Derby: Where Did They Come From?

The first, third and fourth from Epsom all meet again after the Derby form was given a boost by the imposing runner-up King Of Steel when winning the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot. Three sons of Galileo take on six of his grandsons, while five Aidan O'Brien-trained runners face one trained by each of his sons, Joseph and Donnacha.

AUGUSTE RODIN (Ire)
Deep Impact (Jpn) – Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})

Owner: Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Westerberg
Breeder: Coolmore
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Pedigree notes: The Derby winner hails the final crop of Japanese superstar Deep Impact and from a family which is not short on speed, his third dam being the King's Stand S. winner Casandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}). Her offspring include Auguste Rodin's grand-dam, the Irish 1,000 Guineas and Nassau S. winner Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), as well as Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), the dam of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Victoria Road (Ire) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}). Halfway To Heaven's repeated matings with Galileo (Ire) produced not only the brilliant Magical (Ire) but also the treble Group 1 winner Rhododendron, and Auguste Rodin is the latter's first foal. The one to beat.

SAN ANTONIO (Ire)
Dubawi (Ire) – Rain Goddess (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})

Owner: Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier & Westerberg
Breeder: Coolmore
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Pedigree notes: The Dubawi-Galileo cross has yielded the 2,000 Guineas winner Night Of Thunder (Ire) and Horse of the Year Ghaiyyath (Ire). San Antonio is the second foal of Rain Goddess, who was second in the Irish Oaks, a long way behind Enable (GB), and won the G3 Snow Fairy Fillies S. Her grand-dam Virginia Waters won the 1,000 Guineas and was fourth in the Oaks. Winner of the Listed Dee Stakes, San Antonio was last seen finishing 11th of 14 in the Derby.

ADELAIDE RIVER (Ire)
Australia (GB) – Could It Be Love (War Front)

Owner: Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg
Breeder: Coolmore
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Pedigree notes: Adelaide River's dam's sole win was at seven furlongs, with the best performance of her life coming when finishing runner-up to Alpha Centauri (Ire) in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. The mare is a half-sister to the American champion juvenile and Coolmore sire Uncle Mo, and this is her first foal. He ran eighth in the Derby after finishing runner-up in the Chester Vase and is unlikely to play any more than a supporting role here.

PROUD AND REGAL (Ire)
Galileo (Ire) – Simply Perfect (GB) (Danehill)

Owner: Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Westerberg
Breeder: Coolmore
Trainer: Donnacha O'Brien

Pedigree notes: Brother to Group 3 winner Mekong River (Ire) and Group 3-placed Simply Beautiful (Ire), his dam was a top-class miler for Jeremy Noseda, winning the G1 Fillies' Mile and G1 Falmouth S. and placing in the 1,000 Guineas. She was herself out of the G1 Moyglare Stud S. runner-up Hotelgenie Dot Com (GB) (Selkirk), whose half-sister Bianca Nera (GB) (Salse) won that same race. The winner of last year's G1 Criterium International, Proud And Regal was subsequently seventh in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. Improvement needed if he is to make his mark here.

SPREWELL (Ire)
Churchill (Ire) – Lahaleeb (Ire) (Redback {GB})

Owner: Mohamed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim
Breeder: Khalid Abdul Rahaim
Trainer: Jessica Harrington

Pedigree notes: Bred by Khalid Abdul Rahaim, who enjoyed great success on the track with his dam Lahaleeb (Ire), winner of the GI EP Taylor S. Sprewell, who finished fourth in the Derby, is the highest-rated runner for the mare and races in the colours of his breeder's son Mohamed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim. Like White Birch, he hails from a family cultivated by Cheveley Park Stud, where his unraced granddam Flames (GB) (Blushing Flame) was bred.

COVENT GARDEN (Ire)
Galileo (Ire) – Inca Princess (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire})

Owner: Westerberg, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith
Breeder: Coolmore
Trainer: Aidan O'Brien

Pedigree notes: His dam has now produced six black-type performers by Galileo, led by the juvenile Group 1 winner Johannes Vermeer (Ire). Inca Princess won a six-furlong maiden in just three starts and is a daughter of the G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Miletrian (Ire) (Marju {Ire}). The outsider of the field, Covent Garden won a Tipperary maiden over nine furlongs last October and was third to Peking Opera in the Yeats S. on his only start this term.

UP AND UNDER (Fr)
Lope De Vega (Ire) – Hibiscus (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})

Owner: Go Racing Limited
Breeder: Floors Stud
Trainer Joseph O'Brien

Sales history: A 220,000gns Tattersalls December Foal from the Floors Stud dispersal, the colt was bought back as a yearling by Yeomanstown Stud at Book 1 and then reoffered at Arqana's Breeze-up Sale, where he fetched €135,000 in a private transaction.

Pedigree notes: His listed-placed dam is a sister to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Line Of Duty (Ire) and half to G2 Great Voltigeur runner-up Secret State (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). Granddam Jacqueline Quest (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) finished first past the post in the 1,000 Guineas but was demoted to second for interference. Up And Under has Group 3 placings behind both Sprewell and White Birch. Still a maiden, he looks useful but this is quite a stiff task.

WHITE BIRCH (GB)
Ulysses (Ire) – Diagnostic (GB) (Dutch Art {GB})

Owner: Mrs C C Regalado-Gonzalez
Breeder: Cheveley Park Stud
Trainer: John Joseph Murphy

Sales history: 75,000gns Tattersalls December Foals; 48,000gns (not sold) Tattersalls October Book 2 Yearlings.

Pedigree notes: Bred by Cheveley Park Stud, he was bought by Tally-Ho Stud as a foal but didn't reach his reserve at the yearling sales. Subsequently bought privately by his trainer, he has since changed hands to Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez and has run with great credit to be placed in both the Derby and the Dante. His dam was a multiple winner over six and seven furlongs from a family which includes the G3 Princess Elizabeth S. winner Clinical (GB) (Motivator {GB}).

PEKING OPERA (Ire)
Galileo (Ire) – Bugle (War Front)

Breeder: Premier Bloodstock
Owner: Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg
Trainer Aidan O'Brien

Pedigree notes: His Stone Farm-bred dam is a sister to the dual Group 1-wining juvenile Air Force Blue and her first foal, Yee Haw (Ire), by Frankel (GB), is a winner in France. Further family also includes GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Flanders (Seeking The Gold). Winner of a mile maiden at two, then the Listed Yeats S. on resumption at three, Peking Opera was seventh last Wednesday in the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot.

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Auguste Rodin Bids To Provide O’Brien With 100th Classic Win In Irish Derby

Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is on track to bid for a Derby double at the Curragh on Sunday with Aidan O'Brien's Epsom hero heading a field of 11 forfeits for the Curragh showpiece.

If successful in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Auguste Rodin would provide the master of Ballydoyle with his 100th European Classic success, but the colt will face stiff competition with the third and fourth home at Epsom still in the picture for the race.

O'Brien has five horses remaining in the €1.25m contest, which will be the first Irish Derby run on a Sunday since 2011, and the main attraction of the three-day fixture.

Auguste Rodin will be bidding to give Ryan Moore his first win in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and the rider heaped praise on O'Brien ahead of what could be an historic weekend for the trainer.

Moore said, “Aidan has shown for the last 30 years what an unbelievable talent he is. Genius gets bandied around an awful lot but how he prepares his horses and gets them to that day, to do it as many times as he has is a very special thing to do.

“I know the horse was disappointing at Newmarket, but there were reasons for that and Aidan always had complete belief in the horse. He is a horse that everyone always held in the highest regard from a very early stage.”

Auguste Rodin could also become the first horse to complete the Epsom-Curragh Derby double since Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in 2016. Among those standing in his way could be his own stable companions Adelaide River, Covent Garden, Peking Opera and San Antonio.

However, John Murphy's White Birch (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}), a first ride in the Irish Derby for Dylan Browne McMonagle, and the Jessica Harrington-trained Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), third and fourth respectively at Epsom a month ago, appear to be the biggest threats to O'Brien's Epsom scorer.

Harrington is expecting a big run from Sprewell but is realistic about the task at hand. She said on Tuesday, “I'm very happy with his preparation. He came out of Epsom very well and we've just slowly built him up. He's a very laid-back character and it's quite easy to keep the preparation going.

“Auguste Rodin is going to be very difficult to beat. He's proved himself to be an exceptional horse, to come back from what was a disaster really in the 2,000 Guineas.

“It was a great training feat for Aidan to get him back and to win so easily, as he did in Epsom. He's got to go out and do it again, but I'm presuming he'll be in good order. He's got it on the board and he beat us a fair way.”

She added, “You're always hoping. You don't go into those races thinking, 'I'll be grand being second'. I want to go in there thinking, 'I'll be grand if I can win'.”

Also standing their ground ahead of Friday's final declaration stage are the Dermot Weld-trained Knight To King, an impressive winner at Gowran Park on his debut, Joseph O'Brien's Leopardstown Derby Trial second Up And Under, the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Proud And Regal and the Ralph Beckett-trained Salt Bay.

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‘The Horse We’ve Been Waiting For’ – Sprewell’s Owner On Derby Claims

He may be one of the biggest supercar collectors in the world, but Sprewell's owner Mohamed Khalid Abdulrahim admits that it is the inability to predict what is underneath the bonnet of a racehorse that is the main lure for him to the sport.

The 35-year-old is looking forward to his first Derby runner at Epsom on Saturday with the Jessica Harrington-trained Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}). Bred by his father Khalid Abdul Rahaim, who also raced the dam Lahaleeb (Ire) (Redback {GB}), Sprewell has been described by the Bahraini-based owner as the horse his family have been waiting for ahead of Saturday's big race.

“I'm very excited, trust me,” Abdulrahim said. “I have been waiting a long time for this horse. It is going to be a huge day for my father and I and, as I said, we have been looking forward for a really long time for a horse like Sprewell. We're very fortunate.”

He added, “Team Harrington keep telling us that Sprewell is probably the best colt that they have ever had over this distance, honestly. I mean, I couldn't believe it, but that's what Jessica thinks.

“They have done a fantastic job with the horse and we're delighted, obviously. They are an amazing team and Jessica is obviously a super tough woman, which makes this story even better. I would be so happy for them if we can win the Derby, not just for my father and I, but for the Harringtons as well.”

Sprewell was bred at Friarstown Stud in Kildare, which is owned by Khalid Abdul Rahaim, who also has farms in the United Kingdom and on home shores in Bahrain. According to Abdulrahim, who runs the racing arm of the operation and has a penchant for fast cars as well as horses, the plan is to grow the ownership model in Europe.

He said, “I have been involved in racing for four years now but my father has been breeding and racing horses for over 30 years now. So I have been only four years in racing and I come across a horse like this. Talk about luck. My Dad does the breeding and I run the racing side of things. It's a good team and I am very fortunate that my father breeds horses.”

Abdulrahim added, “This is what makes it even better, to be honest. You could buy and breed a lot of horses and you may not come across a horse of the standard of Sprewell. Horse racing is a weird game. A lot of luck involved. But I love it and it is a part of us now.

“We own Friarstown Stud in Kildare. We have 15 mares there. We also have operations in the UK and in Bahrain as well. In Bahrain, we do the weekly races and use a stud farm over there, but we still haven't sold anything yet! I am trying to get that operation moving because, up until now, it has been used privately for us.

“We just breed for ourselves and race the horses right now. But, in the coming years, we could race and sell. We have horses with Kevin Philippart de Foy, including El Habeeb (Ire) (Al Rifai {Ire}), another 110-rated performer, and three or four with team Harrington as well. I am thinking of doing more. That is going to grow.”

Abdulrahim races horses in Bahrain under the banner of MKAR Racing. Sprewell and El Habeeb, who is by the family's homebred stallion Al Rifai, have performed to a high level in Europe already and Abdul Rahim admits that the breeding-to-race aspect of the operation is what excites him most.

He explained, “Lahaleeb raced in my father's colours. I can remember when he bought her, I was studying in the UK, and it was all over the news how much he paid for her at the sales. “Nowadays, what he paid for her [1,000,000gns], is not that much but I remember it caused a big stir at the time. Lahaleeb is the dam of Al Rifai, who is the sire of El Habeeb, but Sprewell is the best out of her for sure.”

Asked if the success with Sprewell is made more special given the pedigree has been nurtured by his father, Abdulrahim said, “It makes it the world more special, trust me. For us, breeding a horse makes it much better than buying one. All of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to produce a racehorse, all the trial and error that you go through in trying breed a superstar horse, it's all worth it. Hopefully we have found one now in Sprewell.

“The Derby is the biggest Classic there is. It's everyone's dream to win the Derby. The track is extremely tough and the horse needs to be tough to finish the race, not only to win, so we know how hard it is going to be. It is one of the biggest races for my father and I and we are very excited to have a runner.”

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Harrington: Horses Have Been “The Best Therapy” During Breast Cancer Battle

Jessica Harrington, who will bid to win her first Betfred Derby with Sprewell (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), has described working with horses as “the best therapy” in her breast cancer battle.

Sprewell was an impressive winner of a Group 3 Derby trial at Leopardstown earlier this month and the 76-year-old trainer believes the colt has what it takes to provide her with a breakthrough victory in the Epsom Classic.

Speaking on a Zoom call organised by The Jockey Club, Harrington said, “I've been delighted with him. We knew he'd come on over the winter and he's run two good, solid races.

“He's come out of the Leopardstown run very well and we were delighted with him. He definitely stepped forward from there again and we're looking forward to Saturday week.”

Harrington added on the general 12-1 chance for the Derby, “I think the step up to a-mile-and-a-half will suit him–he ran through the line very strong (at Leopardstown) and he's a very strong and relaxed horse, which is the main thing.

“Nothing seems to faze him and I think going the mile-and-a-half will suit him because I think he'll settle well, which he had done in both of his races this year.”

Harrington was diagnosed with breast cancer late last year. The dual Classic-winning trainer has spoken about how working in a busy yard has been a therapy during her recuperation and described her daughters Emma [Galway] and Kate as a massive help in ensuring the smooth running of the yard during that time.

She explained, “Things are great and I'm lucky enough to have finished the worst part of it now that the chemo is done. We're moving on to the next stage now and it'll take a bit longer, but I hope that I'll be out and about again very shortly.

“The horses really have been a massive help to me and I'm really lucky to have a massive support team here.”

She added, “My daughters Kate and Emma and my son-in-law [Richie Galway] have been around all winter keeping things going and I did my best to get out every single day that I could to look at the horses, because that was the best therapy that I reckoned I had.

“I went racing last Friday to Leopardstown. I didn't actually go on Sunday, but I go when it's nice and near and when I can. I'd be most likely to watch the Derby from home, but I'll see how I get on.”

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