We all know it takes courage to win races over jumps, along with athleticism, stamina and speed. But you need courage to win on the Flat too and Adayar showed that in abundance winning this year’s Derby. The aerial shots show vividly the moment, two furlongs from the finish, when early leader Gear Up moved fractionally away from the rail. Jockey Adam Kirby, who had been tracking him all the way, saw his opportunity and asked Adayar to forge through the narrow gap. His brave mount responded and suddenly they were clear, going on to win by four lengths in a success that was truly popular with the racing community. His fellow jockeys all exited the weighing room to greet the winning rider with handshakes and hugs. In part that was because everybody likes Adam and respects him as a dedicated professional who faces a constant gruelling battle to keep down his weight. In part it was because he had wrenched backwards the fickle finger of fortune after losing the ride on John Leeper, a horse seen before the race as having a far superior chance to Adayar.
It all happened because the Irish maestro Aidan O’Brien, whose Snowfall had the day before won the Oaks by a record margin of 16 lengths under Frankie Dettori, had decided only days before the Derby that instead of coming mob-handed with a band of Coolmore’s expensive equine bluebloods as he often does for English Classics he would send only Bolshoi Ballet to Epsom this year. ‘Game over,’ most of us thought. ‘If Aidan is content with only one shot at a Derby that could give him a 41st Classic victory to take him past the 158-year-old record of John Scott, then he must be sure Bolshoi is a superstar.’
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