General / Wayne Bailey / 02 July 2009 / Leave a comment

Wayne Bailey takes a look at the recent Derby winners and asks how the 2009 victor compares...

Since Sea The Stars won the Derby, there's been plenty of debate online and in the racing press as to whether the praise heaped on the John Oxx trained colt was over the top. Would Fame And Glory have beaten him had the pace been different? Unfortunately, the weather robbed us of the chance to find out in the Irish Derby but such is life.

We could argue the 'what if' questions all day but for now, all we can go on is proven form to assess how good or otherwise the son of Cape Cross actually is. I backed him in the Derby, so it's easy for me to be a fan. Sure, he's no Nijinsky, and individually his Guineas and Derby wins may not have been spectacular - but the fact that he done the double allows him to hold his head up very high indeed. Before the Derby, people said he wouldn't stay. When he did, they blamed the pace. But Sea The Stars certainly wasn't all-out at Epsom and it's my view that he would have won anyway had O'Brien's team employed a different approach. Indeed, The Racing Post Derby comments read:

"The winning margin was not extravagant, but it was a performance of sheer class and one that places him among the sport's true greats."

Now, I've disagreed with the RP on many occasions but I think it's OK to call a Guineas and Derby winner a great - regardless of how stylish he looked. Sea The Stars is set to face nine rivals in Saturday's Coral Eclipse, and while I'm very confident of a win, the last Derby horse to be successful on their re-appearance was High Chaparral, back in 2002. With all the debate about the greats back to the fore, I thought it would be good to remind ourselves of how the recent Derby winners fared afterwards:

The 2009 Derby winner New Approach was 2nd in the Irish 2,000 Guineas previously and was the subject of controversy among the ante-post punters as he was entered for the Derby 'by mistake' by Bolger, then pulled out, then put back in again. There were some stamina doubts about New Approach too, but he cast those aside and won convincingly after being held up for most of the race. He was subsequently third in the Juddmonte the following August, but managed to go out on a high by winning the Leopardstown and Newmarket Champion Stakes before retiring. As things stand, he's some way ahead of Sea The Stars but we'll wait and see what happens.

The Authorized win in 2007 was extra special as it gave Frankie Dettori his first every Derby win. It was a great racing story - but it was easy to get caught up in the hype afterwards. In a tactical affair, he was subsequently beaten in the Coral Eclipse at short odds but ran with credit. He bounced back to win the Juddmonte, and while some question whether he would have beaten Dylan Thomas if that horse had got a clear run, my own view is that Authorized won it fair and square. Dylan Thomas got his own back in the Arc (with Fallon on board), and Authorized called it a day after running home a disappointing 10th place. After such a big Derby win, it was disappointing to see him go out on such a low.

Sir Percy, Motivator, North Light and Kris Kin never won a race again following their respective Derby successes which was disappointing for the race as a whole. Previously, we had a couple of golden years with High Chaparral, Galileo and Sinndar - each of which won the Irish Derby on their reappearance and were also successful later on in their careers.

So how does Sea The Stars fit in with past Derby winners? He may not be the best of the best - but he's certainly top class. I suppose it's a little early to be calling him a great but I hope we won't get too many 'told you so' opinions if he gets beaten on Saturday. I'm not here to defend the horse to the death, but perhaps both sides of the argument should take a step back and give him a chance. I've backed him for the Coral Eclipse so I'm certainly hoping he'll continue winning!

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