Darley's new stallion recruit Golden Horn joined an elite 'club' of champions to have won the Epsom Derby and Prix de l'arc l'Arc de Triomphe in their Classic season when notching a stunning victory at Longchamp on Sunday.
Darley's new stallion recruit Golden Horn joined an elite 'club' of champions to have won the Epsom Derby and Prix de l'arc l'Arc de Triomphe in their Classic season when notching a stunning victory at Longchamp on Sunday.
In the past 50 years, only Sea Bird (1965), Mill Reef (1971), Lammtarra (1995), Sinndar (2000), Sea The Stars (2009), Workforce (2010), and now Golden Horn (2015), have pulled off the double. Owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer's colt is in good company.
It takes a special horse to endure an entire season that began with Derby 'trials' in the Spring and continued with Classic competition and then meeting the older horses at Group One level in Summer and Autumn.
Then, to produce the best performance of all, against a vintage field in the Arc, proved Golden Horn, a son of Darley stallion Cape Cross, to be exceptional. He is unquestionably the leader of his generation and a credit to his trainer John Gosden.
Treve, the great mare who was attempting a third successive win in the Arc, finished fourth. She pulled hard on the outside (which is one of her traits) and the fast ground was not in her favour. But trainer Criquette Head-Maarek offered no excuse. "We were beaten by a better horse," she said.
"Maybe the Prix Vermeille (3 weeks earlier) took something out of her. But there is no excuse. It was not the ground. Frankie Dettori rode a fantastic race on the winner. Treve now retires to stud," she added.
Flintshire finished second for the second successive year, while New Bay, son of Darley stallion Dubawi, held on for third after enjoying a great run on the inside rail throughout.
Golden Horn's addition to the stallion roster at Dalham Hall Stud, Newmarket, was welcomed by John Ferguson, bloodstock adviser to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed.
"Golden Horn has proven himself an outstanding racehorse, consistently producing a level of performance that has seen him winning Group One races against the best horses in Europe throughout an entire season. He is brilliant and tough, and is from a proven Classic sire line, just the attributes needed in a successful stallion," he pointed out.
It is still undecided whether the colt will have one more run before stud duties beckon. The Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland is the logical remaining target.
News of Golden Horn's Darley connection was a further boost at the weekend to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's international racing and breeding operation.
Godolphin enjoyed a 1-2 in the one-mile Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, with Andre Fabre sending out Ultra to beat the Gosden-trained Cymric. Fabre believes that Ultra, a son of Darley stallion Manduro, may develop into a Derby horse next year.
In Australia, Godolphin had a weekend to remember when trainer John O'Shea and jockey James McDonald combined for 5 stakes winners at Randwick on Saturday, and then saw Melbourne Cup hopeful Hartnell finish off his race with great promise when just behind the placed horses in the G1 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on Sunday.
Hartnell drew impossibly wide and came from last, but he turned in a run at least equal that of winner Preferment, who also came from back in the field. O'Shea said: "James (McDonald) thought Hartnell's run was outstanding.
"We will get some more work into him now and have him right for the Cox Plate, then the Melbourne Cup," he said.
Magic Hurricane was a good winner of the G1 Metropolitan Handicap, staking his claim for a run in the Caulfield Cup. "He got a 2.5kg penalty, which puts him on the cusp of getting into the Caulfield Cup, and it is the same with Complacent, another of our winners, who is also right on the borderline," the trainer added.
O'Shea will be gearing up to run Contributer in the G1 Caulfield Stakes on Saturday, with Blake Shinn in the saddle, replacing McDonald, who misses the meeting because of suspension.
