Lambourn crowns Aidan O'Brien for the eleventh time in the Epsom Derby

The son of Australia made all the running to land England’s most iconic race and extended Coolmore’s dominant streak

Lambourn proved uncatchable at Epsom Downs / COOLMORE

EPSOM DOWNS, Inglaterra (Special for Turf Diario).- What for most would be one of the most difficult feats in the racing world has become routine for Aidan O'Brien. The legendary trainer captured the G1 Betfred Derby for a record-extending 11th time on Saturday, doing so once more with a colt bred and owned by Coolmore, and with Wayne Lordan stepping in as the winning rider.

The remarkable streak that began in 2001 with Galileo (Sadler’s Wells), and was followed by High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells, 2002), Camelot (Sadler’s Wells, 2012), Ruler of the World (Galileo, 2013), Australia (Galileo, 2014), Wings of Eagles (Pour Moi, 2017), Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo, 2019), Serpentine (Galileo, 2020), Auguste Rodin (Deep Impact, 2023) and City of Troy (Justify, 2024), found its newest chapter with Lambourn (Australia), who pulled off an audacious front-running performance in the most prestigious race on the British calendar.

Though solid without being spectacular leading into Epsom, the grandson of Scat Daddy dictated every step of the 2400-meter journey, quickened smartly into Tattenham Corner, and proved unassailable in the final furlong, drawing off to win by 3 3/4 lengths over Lazy Griff (Protectionist), with Tennessee Stud (Wootton Bassett) another length back in third. The final time over ground officially labeled as good was 2:38.50.

The Derby, second leg of the British Triple Crown, lost one of its key contenders at the 11th hour when Arabian Crown(Dubawi), winner of the G1 2000 Guineas, was scratched due to unsuitable underfoot conditions, with rider William Buick opting not to run.

Lambourn was perceived as the third string from the O'Brien–Coolmore camp, behind stablemates Delacroix (Dubawi) and The Lion In Winter (Sea the Stars), both of whom failed to fire and finished well down the field.

Now boasting an astonishing 47 British Classic victories, O'Brien and Coolmore capped an extraordinary week that began with Camille Pissarro (Wootton Bassett) taking the G1 Prix du Jockey Club in France, and continued on Friday at Epsom with Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and Jan Brueghel (Galileo) capturing the G1 Oaks and G1 Coronation Cup, respectively.