The Derby at Epsom
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The Derby has been run on the Downs near Epsom since 1780 and is named after Edward Smith Stanley, the 12th Earl of Derby. The original race was The Oaks, named after Derby’s estate, and was exclusively for three-year-old fillies. The race became so successful that The Derby was created to find the best colts and fillies of each generation.
The title of the race was decided after the Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury flipped a coin. Sir Charles Bunbury’s horse Diomed won the first Derby in pink and white silks for £1, 065 15s, whilst the Earl named the title of the race.
The contest was held over a mile with the starting point in a straight line beyond the current five-furlong marker. Tattenham Corner was not introduced until 1784 when the course was extended to its current distance of a mile- and-a-half.
A Race of Great Importance
Derby Day became so popular that on its original fixture of the first Wednesday in June, Parliament did not sit and thousands would flock to the fair at Epsom Downs. The Royal family have often had horses in the race and high society would throng at the enclosure.
Emily Davison Fells the King’s Horse
The Derby is such a jewel in the crown of racing that on June 4th 1913, it took centre-stage in the struggle for the political struggle of the Suffragettes. Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under the King George V’s horse at Epsom and died of her injuries four days later.
In 1913, the Derby attracted the cream of society, including the Royal family, who have always had a hand in horse racing. Because of its importance, it attracted a very large crowd to the Epsom Race Course – a perfect stage for a political fight.
The King’s horse in 1913 was called Anmer and was ridden by jockey Herbert Jones. As the horses rounded Tattenham Corner, Anmer was third from last.
Emily Wilding Davison ducked underneath the barrier and threw herself in front of Anmer. The horse fell and the jockey came off. There was some confusion as to whether Ms Davison had simply been trying to cross the course, but it soon became evident that she had tried to grab the reins of Anmer, instead taking the full impact of the thundering horse in her attempts to stop the race and raise the profile of the Suffrage movement.
Shergar Kidnapped by the IRA
In 1981, Shergar won the Epsom Derby by an amazing 10 lengths – the biggest margin ever seen in the race’s history. Despite this outstanding achievement, he is probably best remembered for another reason – his 1983 disappearance from Aga Khan’s stud farm in Ireland.
The kidnap made front-page news worldwide and before long, conspiracy theories began to circulate. Bogus ransom demands were received and it was even suggested the IRA had taken the horse and shot him, but to this day, no proof exists as to what really happened. One film depiction showed the horse being rescued and repainted by a local Irish boy.
Shergar’s unparalleled Derby win was named in the Observer’s 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the 20th Century and a race, the Shergar Cup, first held at Goodwood in 1999, was named after him.
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Vincent O’Brien, six-time Derby winning trainer, has said of the old Derbys:
“It is over 65 years since I took out my first trainer’s licence and so much has changed at Epsom during that time – starting stalls, supplementary entries, even greater prize money, patrol cameras, watering, elaborate grandstands, improvements to the track and
even a Saturday Derby.
But some things have never changed – the pounding heartbeat one feels as the horses come round Tattenham Corner and the thrill
of the uphill finish, whether the victory is easy like Nijinsky’s or by an inch like Roberto’s.
For me an Epsom Derby win is the greatest prize of all – the ultimate goal for a trainer – and it has been thus for over 200 years.”
Vincent O’Brien hit the post-war National Hunt world with a bang, winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup four times, landing a hat-trick in the Champion Hurdle and an amazing Grand National three-timer
with Early Mist (1953), Royal Tan (1954) and Quare Times (1955) before switching his focus to Flat racing.
The first of the Irish trainer’s six Derby riumphs came in 1962 when Larkspur kept his feet while seven rivals sensationally fell on
the descent to Tattenham Corner.
Larkspur was the first of two Derby winners trained by O’Brien for Raymond Guest, the US ambassador to Ireland. The second was
the brilliant Sir Ivor, who took the Epsom Classic in 1968 with a devastating burst of acceleration that carried him clear of the
runner-up, Connaught.
O’Brien saddled the great Nijinsky to win the race two years later before becoming the first English Triple Crown winner since Bahram in
1935 and the latest colt to achieve this feat. Lester Piggott partnered both Sir Ivor and Nijinsky and “The Longfellow” was at his best
when driving home Roberto for a thrilling short-head triumph over Rheingold to give O’Brien his fourth Derby success in 1972.
O’Brien’s final two Derby winners carried the colours of Robert Sangster. The Minstrel prevailed in 1977, again with Piggott
determinedly driving home the Ballydoyle colt to edge out Hot Grove, while the fragile but exceptional Golden Fleece could not have won with more ease under Pat Eddery in 1982.
The Sangster/O’Brien/Eddery combination almost won the Derby again two years later when El Gran Senor went down by a shorthead
to Secreto. However, this defeat was also a proud moment for O’Brien – his son David trained Secreto.
O’Brien’s last Derby runner was Fatherland who finished ninth under Lester Piggott in 1993. The trainer retired the following year with a phenomenal record of 16 English Classic victories, 27 Irish Classic wins, three Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe successes and 25 Royal Ascot triumphs.
[…] The race itself is a flat sprint. Epsom is shaped almost like a horse shoe. The start takes the jockeys along a fast straight that lead to a long and gradual bend. The bend sharpens at Tattenham Corner where the horses slow down before picking up into the home straight to finish in front of the Royal Box. It is Tattenham Corner where Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under the King’s horse in order to protest the lack of wom…. […]