Derby Day.

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Alec Swan

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Just watched an interview with Ryan Moore. Did anyone else notice his vastly expanded pupils? Odd! :)

Thought that AP looked incredibly smart and impeccably turned out and he looks so well too. Not riding is agreeing with him!

Any choices? Anyone? I've yet to see the runners, so I'll decide later. As a Stoute fan, I'd like to see Poet's Word at the finish.

Alec.
 
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I'd be more concerned if he had pin prick pupils !!

Just switched on. Not a huge flat racing a fan but always like the big races. No idea on who might win. Quite open race.

As for the oaks, well how good was Minding ??!!
 
Queen looks amazing :)

I haven't got a clue, however I'm a fan of Frankie, so I would like him to win please :)

Alternating between Tattersalls, Roland Garros and the racing :)
 
A fantastic winner! A Derby Winner bred by a Derby winner. That bloodline is going to be something to behold.

You can't not mention the Derby without mentioning Urban Sea. Not only did she herself foal 2 Derby winners in Galileo and Sea The Stars, both of these have gone on to produce Derby winners. She is also the paternal Grand Dam to 8! Yes 8 horses in the Derby today - the winner through Sea The Stars and Galileo as sires and maternal grand mother of Moonlight Magic. All of her own offspring have been Black Type horses who have gone on to produce black type.
 
Interesting stats EKW and thank you. Every now and then there will be a female line member in any sphere who will influence future generations. We may laud the efforts of her offspring, whilst forgetting where they came from. The sires may come and go, but not so the bedrock of breeding.

As you say, a fantastic winner and a fantastic race. There were many inexperienced and young colts amongst them, and though surprisingly well behaved, considering the ambient temperature of the day, a lot were leaning towards warm, or was it just a combination of youth and inexperience?

Alec.
 
The winner's female line is, further back, all Cleaboy Stud, I presume the Aga Khan bought Harzand's third dam Hazy Idea at a dispersal sale.
He goes right back to Lost Soul and his sixth dam is the 1947 Oaks second Netherton Maid. This is the family of Dumbarnie, Neasham Belle, None Nicer, Border Chief, Pirate King, Chatsworth, Hethersett, Heath Rose and Pampared King.
Interestingly another Derby runner, Port Douglas, who was unplaced is also a descendant of Lost Soul through Hethersett's dam Bride Elect who was herself a daughter of Netherton Maid. Good to see such a prominent old British family in pedigrees.
 
Very good race, which seemed on paper to be the most open for years. Harzand ran on well and was a deserved winner, especially as he was only 60-40 to run for most of the morning having pricked a foot after spreading a plate and having to stand in a bucket of ice for a while.

Special mention must also go to Minding in The Oaks the previous day - a very gutsy, honest performance considering the traffic she had to go through during the race, and being hit on the head for the second race in a row.

Despite what a lot may say about the mechanical machine that is Ballydoyle, couldn't help but be impressed how important manners are in a racehorse to Aiden O'Brien, a point re-iterated by Channel 4 who have spent some time recently following his yard. Considering these are highly strung, wound up racehorses, Minding stood in the middle of the paddock while Aiden did his final tack checks, had her forelock and mane brushed and he applied quarter marks.
 
scotlass said:
Despite what a lot may say about the mechanical machine that is Ballydoyle, couldn't help but be impressed how important manners are in a racehorse to Aiden O'Brien, a point re-iterated by Channel 4 who have spent some time recently following his yard. Considering these are highly strung, wound up racehorses, Minding stood in the middle of the paddock while Aiden did his final tack checks, had her forelock and mane brushed and he applied quarter marks.
Click to expand...

He also walked with her during the parade, I didn't see many other trainers out there. He really does follow every detail, and his memory! Amazing.
 
I enjoyed the Derby, it was a great race and lovely to see a horse sired by See the Stars as winner - he was just a fantastic racehorse,and can you remember that his trainer was virtually in tears the day he left the yard to go to stud.

I always thought that it was accepted that to win a horse had to be in the first 6 coming round Tattenham Corner, or don't juckeys think that applies any more?
 
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