It was a Derby in which an egregious mistake was made by a top-class jockey. The erring jockey may have been given a tap on the wrist. A word of caution from the stewards may have been said. Jockey John Murtagh, at whose door the losses of Tartan Bearer and Curtain Call can be squarely placed, got away unscathed.

The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby was a neatly-run race until the last 200 metres. An O’Brien trainee, Hindu Kush showed the way. O’Brien had five runners. Alessando Volta was tracking the leader. Ryan Moore, aboard Tartan Bearer, the 11-10 favourite, lay in mid-division but in striking range. Pat Smullen and Casual Conquest followed. Seamus Heffernan and Frozen Fire were behind Casual Conquest.

With a little over 400 metres to run, Aleesandro Volta made first run to strike the front. Moore had Tartan Bearer come along and with 300 metres to go, it appeared Tartan Bearer was getting the measure of Alessandro Volta. Casual Conquest moved to the far side to make his bid. Curtain Call was gaining ground on the stands’ side, outside of Tartan Bearer. Frozen Fire ninth and eighth, was seen running on. Heffernan was the widest of all on the stands’ side.

As Tartan Bearer was disputing the lead with Alessandro Volta, John Murtagh began whipping his mount right-handed. Unable to keep a straight course, Alessandro Volta started moving to the left. He began going at an angle and as he did so, he took Tartan Bearer with him. The two were not running straight but they were going across the track. Another who got seriously hampered was Curtain Call, Fran Berry up. Outside of this mess, Frozen Fire got a clear run and was very willing to take advantage of what was happening. Frozen Fire, at 20-1 in the ring, raced on to a two-length victory. Casual Conquest took second and was a shorthead in front of Alessandro Volta. Tartan Bearer was two lengths away in fourth. Another two lengths away in fifth was Curtain Call.
The time for the 2400-metre trip was 2 minutes 31.96 seconds.

Moments later, it was announced there would be a stewards’ inquiry. Alessandro Volta was disqualified and placed fourth. Tartan Bearer was moved from fourth to third. So, the final four were, Frozen Fire, Casual Conquest, Tartan Bearer and Alessandro Volta.

More than once, the O’Brien camp has been accused of ‘team work.’ In 2006, Frankie Dettori made the charge. I am not attributing motives. It did not seem that the situation was beyond jockey Murtagh’s control.

Aidan O’Brien said, at the press conference, “Alessandro Volta has never seen a crowd like this. He reacted.”

I asked O’Brien what made him keep the faith in Frozen Fire despite the 11th place finish at Epsom. “Mick Kinane (who rode Frozen Fire at Epsom) came back and told me that he had problems in running and Frozen Fire was capable of much better. The Epsom Derby was a messy race. And the Dante was a race that gave me confidence about Frozen Fire,” he answered.

Switching to Seamus Heffernan, I reminded O’Brien that he had mentioned that jockey Heffernan deserved more respect after Soldier Of Fortune’s win in 2007. My question was, “What are you going to do to give him more respect?”

Michael Tabor intervened. “John Murtagh is our stable jockey. Consistent with that, we assign mounts. Heffernan gets good horses to ride.”

My final question related to Frozen Fire’s future plans. “As we always do, we will sit down and talk. Frozen Fire is a Montjeu colt. He is versatile. He can manage a stepback in trip.”

I could not speak to Ryan Moore. Jockey Moore was fined 1000 euros for an altercation with a security officer earlier in the day. He was beaten in a photo in the first race. Moore’s Zero Tolerance failed to catch Settigano and jockey Heffernan.

Sir Michael Stoute reacted: “We were taken across the track. We had no chance. It is very unfortunate.”

Fran Berry echoed the sentiments: “Alessandro Volta and John Murtagh took away whatever chances Curtain Call and I had.”

At Saint Cloud in Paris, Youmzain and Richard Hughes turned the tables on Soldier of Fortune in the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud. Youmzain got first run and kept going. Mr Channon, trainer of Youmzain, was thrilled. “Our tactics paid off. My horse has been losing many valuable races.”

Christophe Soumillon, rider of Soldier Of Fortune, had no excuses. “The winner was better. When I chased him, my horse took a little longer to get going.”

Frozen Fire was jockey Heffernan’s second Derby win at the Curragh. Aidan O’Brien was winning his sixth Irish Derby.

Tax Free and Adrian Nicholls won the William Fry Sapphire Stakes; Tax Free collared Benbaun close home. Myboycharlie, coming in for inspired support, did not threaten. Tax Free’s rider, Adrian Nicholls had won the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle on Saturday with Arc Bleu.

Mastercraftsman and John Murtagh justified favouritism in the Railway Stakes. It was a three-way battle with Alhaban and Intense Focus.

The last race of the day was won by Athlumney Lad. The winning rider was Declan McDonogh. The same jockey had won the last race on Saturday.

In a coincidence, in 2007, the last races on Saturday and Sunday were won by John Murtagh.

I saw Chris Hayes, Danny Grant and Niall Mc Cullagh. Said hello to all of them.

Seamus Heffernan did not attend the press conference. He had a ride in the race following the Derby.

The crowd was estimated at 35,000. You could not have asked for better weather. It was not hot. The sun was always there. The Media Centre was in the infield. There were TV screens set up inside the tent. The press conference was held there. There was some great food. Cookies (biscuits) of various kinds and coffee at 4 PM made it a perfect day.