Epsom Derby: Desert Crown romps to victory to give Sir Michael Stoute sixth success in race
- Published
Desert Crown justified his status as favourite with a devastating and decisive turn of pace
Desert Crown won the Derby in a dominant display under Richard Kingscote at Epsom.
The 5-2 favourite came up the outside to hit the front two furlongs from home and finished clear of Hoo Ya Mal, a 150-1 shot, and the fast-finishing Westover.
It is a sixth Derby winner for trainer Sir Michael Stoute, 12 years after his last with Workforce in 2010.
"You can't put it into words," jockey Kingscote told ITV Racing.
"He has a huge amount of class, jumps great and travelled great, turned in really well - it was lovely. He has a lot of class and gives me a lot of confidence, he is a lovely horse."
Kingscote was riding in only his second Derby after partnering Knight To Behold in the 2018 edition of the race.
Stoute received his prize from the Princess Royal
The 35-year-old was at the back of the pack on that occasion, but fully justified Desert Crown's status as favourite with a well-timed burst of acceleration that blew apart the field.
The race was run in memory of jockey Lester Piggott, who won the Derby a record nine times and died at the age of 86 last weekend.
Desert Crown had risen to the top of the betting after a similarly classy showing secured victory at the Dante Stakes at York in May.
The Derby win is Stoute's biggest since the death of his partner Coral Pritchard-Gordon in August 2020 - and brought back memories of his success with the legendary Shergar in the 1981 race.
The 76-year-old is now the oldest known trainer to claim the Derby, surpassing Mat Dawson who was 75 when he saddled Sir Visto to victory in 1895.
Westover's supporters may wonder what might have been as their hope struggled to find a route through the pack - and then powered strongly to finish third when he did.
Masekela, Changingoftheguard and Stone Age finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the 17-strong field.
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