EPSOM, England, 3 Jun: Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien won the English Derby for a record-extending ninth time when Auguste Rodin reeled in King Of Steel to win the 244th edition of Britain’s richest flat race on Saturday.
With Ryan Moore in the saddle, Auguste Rodin won by a length and at odds of 9-2 at Epsom Downs.
Auguste Rodin had a disappointing 12th-place finish when sent off as favorite for last month’s 2000 Guineas but bounced back in a longer race at the Derby.
It looked as though 66-1 outsider King Of Steel had pushed into an unassailable lead coming into the final furlong but Auguste Rodin caught him up and ultimately won convincingly. White Birch ran on for third.
Jockey Frankie Dettori, who is retiring this year, was looking to win the classic for the third time but his horse, Arrest, wasn’t in contention.
Away from the race, a protester was detained by police after running onto the course.
Nineteen activists were arrested ahead of the Derby based on intelligence received by police officers, regarding plans to disrupt one of the social highlights of the English summer — a race first staged in 1780.
Animal rights protesters disrupted the Grand National and the Scottish Grand National in April. At the delayed Grand National at Aintree, 118 arrests were made by Merseyside Police. AP