Christmas Day provided Aidan O’Brien with his 12th victory in the Betfred Derby at Epsom.
The Ballydoyle handler saddled four runners in his pursuit of a dozen triumphs in the blue riband – and the 50th British Classic of his career – with Benvenuto Cellini and Pierre Bonnard the first two in the market.
Christmas Day, the mount of Ronan Whelan, was the supposed O’Brien third string, albeit it at a well-supported at 7/1, but he was always perfectly positioned in behind his pacesetting stablemate Action and edged to the front rounding the home turn.
While several horses, including his two better-fancied stablemates, struggled to make up ground in the testing conditions, the son of 2012 Derby hero Camelot galloped on strongly to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths, with Maltese Cross best of the home team in second and James J Braddock third.
Having been denied a fair start due to difficulties in the stalls, pre-race favourite Benvenuto Cellini was declared a non-runner following a stewards’ enquiry after the race.
More to follow…
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