Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby: Injury denies New Approach

New Approach, owned by Princess Haya Bint Hussein, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was denied the opportunity to add the Irish Derby, sponsored for the first time by Dubai Duty Free, last Sunday to his win in the Epsom equivalent by injury. The horse was found to be lame last Friday and was withdrawn on the morning of the race. The cause of the problem has not yet been accurately diagnosed and he is on ‘the easy list.’

The race was won by Aidan O’Brien’s supposed second string, Frozen Fire, who enjoyed a clear passage while favourite Tartan Bearer was just one impeded close home.

The night before, in America, Godolphin posted their second Group 1 victory of 2008 when Music Note won the Mother Gosse Stakes and their trainer Saeed Bin Suroor will be hoping to add to that tally on Saturday at Sandown. It is Coral Eclipse Day and Godolphin could be double handed with Royal Ascot winner Campanologist and last year’s Champion Stakes victor Literato. Declarations are later today and it will be interesting to see which horse Frankie Dettori’s name appears alongside.

Bin Suroor has won the race twice in the last 10 years (Daylami 1998 and Refuse To Bend 2004) but faces stiff opposition this year. Irish maestro O’Brien, whose string is in scintillating form, looks set to rely on Mount Nelson who is sharing favouritism with Henry Cecil’s Phoenix Tower. His stable companion Multidimen-sional and John Gosden’s Pipedreamer are also prominent in the betting, while Maraahel, owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, bids for a belated first Group 1 victory.

Maraahel is trained by Michael Stoute and he, Cecil, Bin Suroor and O’Brien have won this race 15 times between them and it would look likely that figure will become 16 after Saturday.

Horse of the year

In Hong Kong, Good Ba Ba, a winner four times over in Group 1 company, was crowned their Horse of the Year at the finish of their season. The six-year-old was also deemed Champion Miler and ‘most popular horse’ and will stay in training. Godolphin’s Creachadoir chased him home in the Hong Kong Mile last December and a repeat win will be Good Ba Ba’s next target.