Irish Derby

Group 1 race
Irish Derby
Location	Curragh Racecourse Co. Kildare, Ireland
Inaugurated	1866
Race type	Flat / Thoroughbred
Sponsor	Dubai Duty Free
Website	Curragh
Race information
Distance	1m 4f (2,414 metres)
Track	Turf, right-handed
Qualification	Three-year-olds excluding geldings
Weight	9 st 0 lb Allowances 3 lb for fillies
Purse	€1,500,000 (2009) 1st: €855,000

The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July. It is the Irish version of the Derby Stakes, and it is currently held three weeks after the English event.

Contents 1 History 2 Records 3 Winners since 1962 4 Earlier winners 5 References 6 See also

History

The earliest version of the race was called the O'Darby Stakes. This was established in 1817, but it was discontinued after the 1824 running. It was succeeded in 1848 by the Curragh Derby, but this was again short-lived.

The modern Irish Derby was created by the 3rd Earl of Howth, the 3rd Marquess of Drogheda and the 3rd Earl of Charlemont, and it was first run in 1866. Its distance was initially set at 1 mile and 6 furlongs, and this was cut to its present length in 1872.

In 1907 the Irish Derby was won by that year's English Derby winner, Orby. But it was not until 1962 that the Irish version became the major international race that it is now. This was brought about by Joe McGrath, a founder of the Irish Hospitals' Sweepstake. McGrath combined the race with the sweepstake, and it became known as the Irish Sweeps Derby. The prize money was substantially increased, and the event began to regularly attract the winners of the English Derby. In 1964 Santa Claus became the first horse to win the double since Orby. Several more have followed, and the most recent to win both races was High Chaparral in 2002.

From 1986 to 2007 the Irish Derby was sponsored by Budweiser. The present sponsor, Dubai Duty Free, began supporting the event in 2008.

Records

Leading jockey (6 wins):

• Morny Wing – Ballyheron (1921), Waygood (1923), Rock Star (1930), Rosewell (1938), Windsor Slipper (1942), Bright News (1946)

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Leading trainer (7 wins):

• Aidan O'Brien – Desert King (1997), Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Dylan Thomas (2006), Soldier of Fortune (2007), Frozen Fire (2008), Fame and Glory (2009)

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Leading owner (9 wins): (includes part ownership)

• Michael Tabor – Desert King (1997), Montjeu (1999), Galileo (2001), High Chaparral (2002), Hurricane Run (2005), Dylan Thomas (2006), Soldier of Fortune (2007), Frozen Fire (2008), Fame and Glory (2009)

Winners since 1962

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1962	Tambourine	Roger Poincelet	Etienne Pollet	Mrs Howell Jackson	2:28.80
1963	Ragusa	Garnet Bougoure	Paddy Prendergast	Jim Mullion	2:45.60
1964	Santa Claus	Willie Burke	Mick Rogers	John Ismay	2:35.60
1965	Meadow Court	Lester Piggott	Paddy Prendergast	Bell / McMahon / Crosby	2:46.80
1966	Sodium	Frankie Durr	George Todd	Radha Sigtia	2:31.50
1967	Ribocco	Lester Piggott	F. Johnson Houghton	Charles W. Engelhard, Jr.	2:32.40
1968	Ribero	Lester Piggott	F. Johnson Houghton	Charles W. Engelhard, Jr.	2:33.90
1969	Prince Regent	Geoff Lewis	Etienne Pollet	Countess de la Valdène	2:36.10
1970	Nijinsky	Liam Ward	Vincent O'Brien	Charles W. Engelhard, Jr.	2:36.80
1971	Irish Ball	Alfred Gibert	Philippe Lallié	Emile Littler	2:33.80
1972	Steel Pulse	Bill Williamson	Scobie Breasley	Ravi Tikkoo	2:39.80
1973	Weaver's Hall	George McGrath	Seamus McGrath	Seamus McGrath	2:39.00
1974	English Prince	Yves Saint-Martin	Peter Walwyn	Vera Hue-Williams	2:33.40
1975	Grundy	Pat Eddery	Peter Walwyn	Carlo Vittadini	2:31.10
1976	Malacate	Philippe Paquet	François Boutin	María Félix Berger	2:31.20
1977	The Minstrel	Lester Piggott	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:32.00
1978	Shirley Heights	Greville Starkey	John Dunlop	2nd Earl of Halifax	2:32.30
1979	Troy	Willie Carson	Dick Hern	Sobell / Weinstock	2:30.60
1980	Tyrnavos	Tony Murray	Bruce Hobbs	George Cambanis	2:43.80
1981	Shergar	Lester Piggott	Michael Stoute	HH Aga Khan IV	2:32.70
1982	Assert	Christy Roche	David O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:33.20
1983	Shareef Dancer	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	Maktoum Al Maktoum	2:29.40
1984	El Gran Senor	Pat Eddery	Vincent O'Brien	Robert Sangster	2:31.50
1985	Law Society	Pat Eddery	Vincent O'Brien	Stavros Niarchos	2:29.90
1986	Shahrastani	Walter Swinburn	Michael Stoute	HH Aga Khan IV	2:32.10
1987	Sir Harry Lewis	John Reid	Barry Hills	Howard Kaskel	2:40.20
1988	Kahyasi	Ray Cochrane	Luca Cumani	HH Aga Khan IV	2:32.50
1989	Old Vic	Steve Cauthen	Henry Cecil	Sheikh Mohammed	2:29.90
1990	Salsabil	Willie Carson	John Dunlop	Hamdan Al Maktoum	2:33.00
1991	Generous	Alan Munro	Paul Cole	Prince Fahd bin Salman	2:33.30
1992	St Jovite	Christy Roche	Jim Bolger	Virginia Kraft Payson	2:25.60
1993	Commander in Chief	Pat Eddery	Henry Cecil	Khalid Abdullah	2:31.20
1994	Balanchine	Frankie Dettori	Hilal Ibrahim	Godolphin	2:32.70
1995	Winged Love	Olivier Peslier	André Fabre	Sheikh Mohammed	2:30.10
1996	Zagreb	Pat Shanahan	Dermot Weld	Allen E. Paulson	2:30.60
1997	Desert King	Christy Roche	Aidan O'Brien	Michael Tabor	2:32.50
1998	Dream Well	Cash Asmussen	Pascal Bary	Niarchos Family	2:44.30
1999	Montjeu	Cash Asmussen	John Hammond	Michael Tabor	2:30.10
2000	Sinndar	Johnny Murtagh	John Oxx	HH Aga Khan IV	2:33.90
2001	Galileo	Michael Kinane	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor	2:27.10
2002	High Chaparral	Michael Kinane	Aidan O'Brien	Tabor / Magnier	2:32.20
2003	Alamshar	Johnny Murtagh	John Oxx	HH Aga Khan IV	2:28.20
2004	Grey Swallow	Pat Smullen	Dermot Weld	Rochelle Quinn	2:28.70
2005	Hurricane Run	Kieren Fallon	André Fabre	Michael Tabor	2:29.40
2006	Dylan Thomas	Kieren Fallon	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor	2:29.70
2007	Soldier of Fortune	Seamus Heffernan	Aidan O'Brien	Magnier / Tabor / Smith	2:36.02
2008	Frozen Fire	Seamus Heffernan	Aidan O'Brien	Tabor / Smith / Magnier	2:31.96
2009	Fame and Glory	Johnny Murtagh	Aidan O'Brien	Smith / Magnier / Tabor	2:30.87

Earlier winners

* The 1924 and 1934 races were dead-heats and have joint winners.

References

• Racing Post:
  • 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
  • 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
  • 2008, 2009

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• galopp-sieger.de – Irish Derby Stakes.
• horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – Irish Derby (2009).
• pedigreequery.com – Irish Derby – Curragh.
• tbheritage.com – Irish Derby Stakes.
• The Breedon Book of Horse Racing Records. Breedon Books. 1993. p. 103. ISBN 1-873626-15-0. 

See also

• List of Irish flat horse races

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