The first Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby run at the newly renovated Curragh produced a shock result, with Aidan O’Brien’s 33/1 outsider Sovereign winning by six lengths.

Ridden by Padraig Beggy, the son of Galileo was sent to the front early, alongside stablemate Norway, with the aim to set a good pace. However, it soon became evident he wasn’t for catching, with favourite Anthony Van Dyck only just able to catch Norway for second and Madhmoon back in fourth.

Remarkably, this was Beggy’s second Derby winner in three years after he rode 40/1 shot Wings Of Eagles to win at Epsom in 2017. Beggy was something of a journeyman jockey before joining the ranks at Ballydoyle, operating around fifth or sixth choice, but has achieved more than the majority of jockeys will in a lifetime. This was his first winner of the year and just his 10th in two and a half seasons.

Speaking after the race the 34-year-old said: “The Curragh is where I served my apprenticeship with Kevin Prendergast and this means even more to me than winning the Epsom Derby.”

O’Brien added: “Sovereign, like a lot of Galileos showed he wasn’t for catching on this fast ground. It wasn’t the result we were expecting but fair play to Padraig - we’re delighted for him.”

Earlier, the Ger Lyons-trained Siskin produced a brilliant performance in the Group 2 GAIN Railway Stakes. The son of First Defence is unbeaten in three and will likely come back to the Curragh for the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes.

There were 11,957 at the Irish Debry on Saturday which represents a decent start to the new era, though, worryingly, there were plenty of reports of long queues for bars, restaurants and toilets on the day.