Some 20 years after his first victory in the Irish Derby with Desert King, Aidan O’Brien made it twelve victories in the country’s premier classic as Capri edged a thrilling conclusion last Saturday evening.

Sadly, the race was to be the final racecourse outing for Wings Of Eagles who more than played his part in a memorable finale by finishing a close third.

However, one has to think that had Wings Of Eagles not fractured a near fore sesamoid he would have completed the Epsom-Irish Derby double. Furthermore, the manner in which he came from miles back at Epsom last month to claim the most unlikely of triumphs was striking to say the least.

It hinted that this colt, whose only previous win came in a Killarney maiden, could be really special. Sadly we will never get to find out quite how good Wings Of Eagles could have been but his Epsom effort was one to live long in the memory.

A DESERVED WINNER

In terms of the Irish Derby, the winner deserves every plaudit that comes his way. He hadn’t won a race since last September but has long been a thoroughly likeable and utterly straight forward colt and the will to win he showed last Saturday was commendable.

There were stages inside the last quarter of a mile where he looked sure to be picked off but he kept finding more to hold off Cracksman.

There are surely more big days ahead for this admirable grey and he must take all the beating if connections opted to head down the English St Leger route. A mention must also be made of the winning jockey Seamie Heffernan who has been such an integral part of the Ballydoyle success story for the last couple of decades and now boasts a big race record that includes three Irish Derby triumphs.

BECKFORD STILL UNBEATEN

Elsewhere the weekend’s activities at the Curragh included a victory of some note for Gordon Elliott as his Beckford stayed unbeaten to land the Group 2 Railway Stakes. In terms of prestige this race won’t rank alongside the triumphs achieved by such Elliott luminaries as Don Cossack or Silver Birch but this was still a landmark success.

This season Elliott broke new ground by training a team of eight two-year-olds. Two of these have already won and Beckford has now established himself as one of the leading lights of the two-year-old sprinting division. From such small numbers this represents an achievement of some note on the part of Elliott and it further emphasizes his prowess as a trainer.

Ground-breaking Sale

Records fell by the wayside at the Tatteralls Ireland Derby Sale which broke new ground, with turnover in excess of €17.6m for the two days – a 24% progression on last year.

For the first time in the sale’s average exceeded €50,000, coming in at €51,645, while the previous record for the median, €36,000, rose to €42,500.

The sale also produced a total of 33 six-figure transactions but the most notable aspect of trade was the strength of the middle market as evidenced by the number of lots making at least €50,000 increasing from 110 to 141.

The week’s top lot was a €220,000 son of the French sire Kapgarde and he was bought by agent Tom Malone on behalf of owners Alan and Ann Potts. The other lot to make over €200,000 was a €205,000 son of Stowaway from Ken Parkhill’s Castletown Quarry Stud who came to Aidan O’Ryan.

In all it has been an excellent couple of months for the National Hunt store market and events at the Derby Sale and other leading auctions bode well for the all important Tattersalls Ireland November National Hunt Sale later in the year.