Dubai: Aidan O’Brien’s Australia won the seventh Dubai Duty Free (DDF) Irish Derby at The Curragh Racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland, on Saturday.
The world’s leading airport retailer sponsored six of the eight races on the card including the flagship event.
Australia, owned by Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and T Ah King, ran a steady race with trainer Aidan’s son Joseph at the reins.
“He ran a great race we are very privileged, he is a very special horse with a lot of speed,” said O’Brien senior. “We are lucky to have him.”
John Magnier was also clearly delighted with the result. “It was a fantastic result and wonderful to watch — it was like watching Lester [Piggott] in the old days.”
The Curragh reported that 23,946 people were in attendance as Colm McLoughlin, DDF Executive Vice-Chairman, presented the winning connections with the derby trophy in front of a packed grandstand.
“This is our seventh year sponsoring the Irish Derby,” said McLoughlin. “Every year it gets bigger and better. We are looking forward to next year to the 150th running of the race. The sponsorship of the Irish Derby is very important for us and is in line with our global strategy of high-profile sports sponsorships.”
Famous faces in the DDF Irish Derby Pavilion included golfer Rory McIlory, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, retired champion jockey, Lester Piggott and boxer Bernard Dunne.
The festival included several off-track events such as a Golf Classic, which was held on June 26 at the Palmer Ryder Cup course at The K Club and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Ball, also held at The K Club on June 27, in aid of The Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation. Over 100,000 euros (Dh500,000) was raised for the charity at the ball, which included a donation of 20,000 euros from Dubai Duty Free.
