I know the Jayaramans well. Several years ago, Dr Jayaraman had horses racing in Chicago. I had called and asked him to visit me and my wide and eat lunch with us. We spent time talking about horses. Over the years, Dr Jayaraman, an avid breeder, had been hoping to get a good ‘one’ classy enough to win one of the big races. More on the Belmont Stakes in my next report.
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The first four races did not go kindly for the fans. Longshots were dominating the card. As betting began after the fourth race, (the Derby was the fifth in the seven-event card) there was a flood of money coming in on Fame And Glory. The Montjeu colt, unbeaten in four outings, was ridden by Seamie Heffernan. Rip Van Winkle, John Murtagh’s pick, was drifting.
Jockey Colm O’Donoghue had not arrived when I was at the jockey’s room. I caught up with Francis Norton. He answered a question or two about the Indian Derby. Norton said that he would like to return to India. He loved the ‘Chicago’ baseball cap I gave him. Colm acknowledged my greeting as he and Golden Sword left the paddock.
South Easter was a scratch and twelve three year-olds made their way to the gate. The rain stopped but the clouds did not go away. The start was delayed by five minutes for no special reason. It was Colm O’Donoghue and Golden Sword who darted to the top. Age Of Aquarius was put in chase of the pacesetter by Pat Smullen, Sea The Stars had left alertly and Mick Kinane had to fight his colt and take him back. Kinane settled fourth as Kite Wood and Frankie Dettori raced outside of Sea The Stars. The others were not far behind. Golden Sword opened up and Colm was saying, “catch me if you can.” Age Of Aquarius threw in the towel soon after Tattenham Corner was negotiated. Kite Wood was not able to keep up. Mick Kinane pushed the button with 400 metres to go and began reducing the gap. Fame And Glory, Masterofthehorse and Rip Van Winkle were making their moves. There were 200 metres left and Sea The Stars had struck the front and Kinane was on cruise control. Golden Sword was battling on but the 2009 Derby winner had been spotted. The O’Brien trio ran on but the bird had flown. Sea The Stars won by one and three quarter lengths. Fame And Glory was a neck in front of Masterofthehorse who was a nose ahead of Rip Van Winkle. Another head away was Golden Sword in fifth. Crowded House, the top British hope, salvaged sixth. Sea The Stars ran the 2400-metre Derby in 2 36.74 seconds.
I asked the first question in the post-race conference. “You got away so quickly. You had to do a lot to take Sea The Stars back and let him settle. You were six lengths, may be, more behind Golden Sword. Is that where you wanted to place yourself?”
Jockey Kinane answered. “You are right. They were not going fast enough for my colt. I did not want to be close to the top. It was quite an effort but he responded. I was cruising along and I could see I will get a response any moment I wanted. From the 2000 Guineas to today, he has improved considerably. John (Oxx) has done a great job.”
I congratulated Kinane for his win in the 2008 Indian Derby with Hotstepper. “You were saying time is running out but you are winning big races across the world. You can bring home winners.”
“I will be 50 soon. I am in good physical shape. Any shortfalls I may have, a horse like Sea The Stars compensates for them.”
Trainer John Oxx spoke about Sea The Stars taking his chances in Doncaster’s St Leger in early September. “It is a Triple Crown. I believe it will be done in the next ten years. Modern breeding will make it possible. From day one, this colt has been special. I was confident about winning. He is the boss in my stable. The Irish Derby (June 28) is an option. He is a mile and a quarter horse, for sure.”
Owner Christopher Tsui, a Hong Kong businessman was on hand. “I am 27. My mother knows a lot about breeding. She makes the big decisions. I run a night club in Hong Kong but only for fun. I arrived from Hong Kong yesterday. I do not know what else to say.”
I presented Kinane with a Hawthorne t-shirt and a baseball cap. I gave Oxx and Tsui caps.
Mick Kinane has now won the Epsom Derby three times. Commander In Chief, Galileo and Sea The Stars are his three winners. It was the second Derby win for John Oxx. Sinndaar was his other winner. The 2000 Guineas-Derby double achieved by Sea The Stars was done the last time by Nashwan in 1989.
The first five in the Derby are trained in Ireland. The Irish stranglehold in the sophomore division this year is complete. At the Curragh, it will be another Irish sweep in the Derby on June 28.
Jockey Kevin Manning took a plane to Dublin after riding in the Derby at Epsom. He had a mount in Curragh’s eighth race (twilight card) and Manning won. These jockeys are workaholics.
Cape Cross is the sire of Sea The Stars. Green Desert, a son of Danzig and a grandson of Northern Dancer, is the grandfather of Cape Cross. The dame is Urban Sea, one of the fillies to win the Arc. Urban Sea’s father is Miswaki who is a son of Mr Prospector.
As I finish this report, it is past midnight in London. I am taking a train to Paris that leaves at 7 50 AM on Sunday. Paris is an hour ahead of London. I will arrive at Gare du Nord about 11 45 AM Paris time. Then it is a local train ride to Chantilly taking about 45 minutes I hope to be at Chantilly a few minutes after 1 P M. It is a different world but it is the same game that keeps the adrenaline going.
My next report will cover Belmont happenings and a story on Chantilly’s French Derby.
