Aidan O’Brien trained his fifth winner of the Budweiser Irish Derby in 10 years yesterday when Soldier Of Fortune relished the muddy ground at The Curragh to win by nine lengths.
O’Brien also trained the second and third home Alexander Of Hales and the 6-4 favourite Eagle Mountain his second 1-2-3 in two weeks, after the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Ridden by Ballydoyle stalwart Seamus Heffernan, for whom this was a first win in Ireland’s most important flat race, Soldier Of Fortune grabbed the lead two furlongs from home and accelerated away from his rivals in impressive fashion.
The son of Galileo, who won the Irish Derby in 2001 for the same connections, won the Chester Vase before finishing fifth behind Authorized in the Epsom Derby. Options on the agenda for the colt include the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.
Don’t miss Horse & Hound’s full report on all the action from The Curragh, in this Thursday’s magazine (5 July, ’07)
