Wings of Eagles flies home under Derby rookie Beggy
Padraig Beggy won the Epsom Derby with his first ride in the race delivering a blistering finish on outsider Wings of Eagles to give trainer Aidan O'Brien his sixth win on Saturday. Beggy -- tasting victory for just the fourth time since 2015 -- brought Wings of Eagles from the clouds to win at 40/1 to deny the most fancied of O'Brien's six runners Cliffs of Moher (5-1) with 7-2 favourite Cracksman, ridden by Frankie Dettori, third. Victory moved O'Brien level with late legendary namesake Vincent O'Brien and to within one of the trainer's record held by the trio of Robert Robson, John Porter (the latter two in the 18th and 19th centuries) and Fred Darling. Beggy -- who has endured some really dark days being slapped with a one year ban in Australia for a positive test for cocaine -- won in front of Queen Elizabeth II to take the richest ever prize in English racing of £931,000 (1m euros, $1.2m) by three quarters of a length. Not even the extra armed police brought in in the wake of the suicide bombing in Manchester that killed 22 and wounded dozens could dilute his joy or the day out for thousands of racegoers. "My first ride, but you always have a chance, don't worry about the price with an Aidan O'Brien runner," said 31-year-old Beggy on his way back to the winner's enclosure. "I had a bit of bad luck in running but I got there at the right time. "Still my best furlong was the last furlong and that is the one that counts. "I'd nearly given up on the big days, but Aidan O'Brien has made it happen. "It's happy days." O'Brien, who has won five of the six classics run so far in the British Isles this season, couldn't praise Beggy high enough. - 'tactically astute' - "Padraig is a brilliant rider, a world class rider," eulogised O'Brien, who gave Beggy a chance when he returned from abroad. "He is strong and has a great mind and tactically astute." Cliffs of Moher had looked certain to deliver jockey Ryan Moore's third winner in the blue riband of the flat after he collared Dettori on Cracksman entering the final furlong. However, Beggy who had had only two of the 18 runners behind him with three furlongs to race, came with an unstoppable burst of acceleration to take the honours and make the bookmakers the happiest people on the course. "I couldn't be happier," said 47-year-old O'Brien. "I thought he was a very good horse last year when he ran a good race in France. "Cliffs of Moher is a bit of a baby still and his next run should be very interesting." Cracksman had done extremely well to be even involved in the denouement as Dettori, who had teamed up with trainer John Gosden to win the Oaks on Friday, was hard at work on him three times round the demanding undulating camber track. "The horse was still mentally immature about things. "Frankie had to, at a couple of stages, just galvanise him. He has run a bit babyish and could have done with that extra race," said Gosden, who two years ago along with Dettori and Cracksmans' owner Anthony Oppenheimer tasted Derby glory with Golden Horn. "He’s in the Irish Derby and I wouldn't mind going there." Eminent ran on well for fourth to give businessman turned trainer Martyn Meade a memorable experience while there was bitter disappointment again for the Godolphin Operation. Benbatl fared best of their trio like the winner coming from way off the pace to finish fifth but still leaving Godolphin supremo Sheikh Mohammed bin al-Maktoum awaiting a Derby winner in their royal blue silks.
