Lambourn storms to Derby triumph with 11th victory for Aidan O’Brien
“Everything in Ballydoyle is about Epsom,” Aidan O’Brien said on Saturday after the Derby, and perhaps a little superfluously, as Lambourn’s 13-2 success in the colts’ Classic had just sealed a clean sweep of the three Group One events at the meeting.Lambourn was not the first string in the trainer’s three-strong team – Delacroix, the 2-1 favourite with Ryan Moore in the saddle was only ninth – but like every other horse at the yard, he had been prepared like an Epsom horse from his first days at the yard.Like Minnie Hauk, Friday’s Oaks winner, he had also been sent to Chester’s May meeting, where the undulations and turns are similar to those at Epsom, to complete his preparation for Saturday’s race, and having been sent straight into the lead by Wayne Lordan, his jockey, he gained another length or two on his field with a slick, assured passage down the hill and around Tattenham Corner.Lazy Griff, who was one and a half lengths behind Lambourn in the Chester Vase, had also been close to the pace from the off and briefly threatened to make inroads into Lambourn’s lead from three out, but Lambourn found more when Lordan asked for a final effort and he was nearly four lengths in front of Lazy Griff (50-1) and Christophe Soumillon at the line.Tennessee Stud, another outsider at 28-1, was third for trainer Joseph O’Brien, the winning jockey aboard Australia, Lambourn’s sire, in 2014.
Lambourn, in fact, is a third-generation Derby winner for O’Brien, as Australia was sired by Galileo, the first of his record total of 11 Derby winners in 2001.“He’s a lazy horse, and Chester is always great place for putting an edge on a horse,” O’Brien said.“It makes them quick and wakes them up, there’s a great atmosphere there and there on the turn.So we always think Chester really sharpens them up, it gives them quick feet and we always send good horses there.“Lambourn was second to Delacroix [in the Ballysax Stakes] first time out, and we took him to Chester and Ryan loved him at Chester, but he couldn’t ride them all.
I’d say he’s probably an Irish Derby horse [for his next race], but he will get further as well,“Ryan said he got taken out of his ground over halfway [on Delacroix] so his chance was over,Colin [Keane] said The Lion In Winter wasn’t going forward, so it was maybe the track or the ground,”For Lordan, who picked up the ride on Lambourn when Moore opted for Delacroix, this was a first Derby victory and as close to an armchair ride as it gets around Epsom,“He’s a lovely, genuine horse,” Lordan said.
“When I jumped I just wanted to get him into a stride because he’s a horse that stays well, and races lazily also.“He was enjoying it in front and his ears were pricked and I was able to go forward good and early.I did feel [going into the race] that he was a bit underrated, because he’s not a flashy horse, he just goes on the bridle and does his own thing.The other horses are good travellers and quicken, mine is just genuine and goes with the flow, but when you look for him, there’s loads in there.”Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionLambourn is already priced up at a shade of odds-on for the Irish Derby later this month, while Charlie Johnston, the trainer of Lazy Griff, may pick between the Irish Derby or the Grand Prix de Paris for the runner-up before a run in the St Leger at Doncaster in September.
A big squad of owners from the big Middleham Park Racing syndicate that owns Lazy Griff will be guaranteed wherever he runs,Perth 1,40 Emily Love 2,12 Away She Goes 2,47 Heart Above 3.
22 Schmilsson 3.57 Stans The Man 4.32 Can’t Beat History 5.07 Donso Star 5.42 True Destiny Goodwood 1.
50 Fine Interview 2,25 Stellar Sunrise 3,00 Miss Apres 3,35 Tattycoram 4,10 Aggagio (nb) 4.
45 Hamish 5,20 Nariko (nap)“We told as many people as would listen that we couldn’t understand why he was such a huge price,” Johnston said,“Lambourn was 13-2 yet this morning we were 100-1,It’s safe to say the Chester form held up well,“I’m surprised how well he handled the track because that was always my biggest concern, because he’s quite a heavy-topped horse and we felt if the ground wasn’t as soft as it was, he wouldn’t be here.
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Thousands join anti-austerity march in London to protest against Labour’s cuts
Thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday calling for an end to public service and welfare cuts, in the first big anti-austerity march under Keir Starmer’s Labour government.The campaign group People’s Assembly, which organised the demonstration, called on the government to “tax the rich and their hidden wealth to fund public services”.The People’s Assembly said it was bringing together trade unionists, health, disability, housing and welfare campaigners with community organisations under the slogan: No More Austerity 2.0.Speaking at the rally, the backbench Labour MP Diane Abbott criticised Starmer’s comments on immigration as “fundamentally racist”, suggesting the government was copying the rhetoric of Reform UK
Bidders demand Thames Water granted immunity over environmental crimes
Lenders vying to take over Thames Water have demanded that the struggling company and its management be granted immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes as a condition of acquiring it, the Guardian can reveal.Creditors want the environment secretary, Steve Reed, to grant the water company extraordinary clemency from a series of strict rules covering everything from sewage spills to failure to upgrade its water treatment works.The demands, if successful, would render the Environment Agency (EA) largely powerless to take enforcement action against Britain’s biggest water company for some of the most serious criminal breaches of its licences and permits.Thames Water has been a serial offender in recent years, paying tens of millions of pounds in fines and penalties, with multiple convictions for dumping raw sewage into rivers and streams and dozens more investigations under way.The fate of the heavily indebted utility was thrown into further doubt this week when the US private equity firm KKR quit an auction to buy it, citing concerns about politicisation and the poor state of its assets
UK ministers delay AI regulation amid plans for more ‘comprehensive’ bill
Proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have been delayed by at least a year as UK ministers plan a bumper bill to regulate the technology and its use of copyrighted material.Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, intends to introduce a “comprehensive” AI bill in the next parliamentary session to address concerns about issues including safety and copyright.This will not be ready before the next king’s speech, and is likely to trigger concerns about delays to regulating the technology. The date for the next king’s speech has not been set but several sources said it could take place in May 2026.Labour had originally planned to introduce a short, narrowly drafted AI bill within months of entering office that would have been focused on large language models, such as ChatGPT
The Trump-Musk feud shows danger of handing the keys of power to one person
After a year of effusive praise and expressions of love for each other, Elon Musk and Donald Trump exploded their political partnership in dramatic fashion this week. The highly public split included, among other highlights, the world’s richest person accusing the president of the United States of associating with a notorious sex offender. Trump said Musk had “lost his mind”.As Musk and Trump traded insults, each on his own social network, they also issued threats with tangible consequences. Trump suggested that he could cancel all of Musk’s government contracts and subsidies – “the best way to save money”, he posted – a move that would have devastating consequences not only on the tech billionaire’s companies but also on the federal agencies that have come to depend on them
Sciver-Brunt hits late flurry as England race to ODI series sweep of West Indies
England head coach Charlotte Edwards praised her players for being “ruthless and clinical” after they completed a 6-0 clean sweep against West Indies, winning Saturday’s rain-reduced third one-day international at Taunton by nine wickets.Chasing a DLS target of 106 in 21 overs, Nat Sciver-Brunt scored an unbeaten half-century to continue a successful start as captain, smashing back-to-back boundaries to seal the win with 61 balls remaining.After consecutive double-century partnerships between Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont in the first two matches of the series, England rejigged their batting order to enable the middle-order a chance to join the series run-fest. Opening up alongside her skipper, Sophia Dunkley contributed 26 before being trapped leg-before by Karishma Ramharack, while Alice Capsey struck a quick-fire 20 from 11 balls at No 3, as England stormed to victory.“We’ve taken a lot of confidence from this,” Edwards said of her side’s first outing since their 16-0 Ashes thrashing last winter
England beat West Indies by nine wickets in rain-hit third women’s ODI – as it happened
Righto, that was one of the stranger OBOs I’ve been involved in. Congratulations to England, they got the job done despite the apocalyptic weather in Taunton. Time for me to depart, thanks for sticking with us, goodnight!England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt:It has rained a few times in Taunton..
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