| Epsom Derby | |
| Location | Epsom Downs Racecourse |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 June 2014 |
| Winning horse | Australia |
| Starting price | 11/8 |
| Jockey | Joseph O'Brien |
| Trainer | Aidan O'Brien |
| Owner | Derrick Smith,Susan Magnier,Michael Tabor & Teo Ah Khing |
| Conditions | Good |
| 1-2-3 | ||
 |  |  |
| Australia | Kingston Hill | Romsdal |
| Also Ran | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4-5-6 | ||
 |  |  |
| Arod | Red Galileo | Western Hymn |
| 7-8-9 | ||
 |  |  |
| True Story | Fascinating Rock | Ebanoran |
| 10-11-12 | ||
 |  |  |
| Kingfisher | Impulsive Moment | Orchestra |
| 13-14-15 | ||
 |  |  |
| Our Channel | Pinzolo | Sudden Wonder |
| 16 | ||
 | -white.svg) | |
| Geoffrey Chaucer | 16 Ran | 2m 33.63s |
The2014 Epsom Derby (known as theInvestec Derby for sponsorship reasons) was the 235th annual running of theDerbyhorse race which took place atEpsom Downs Racecourse on 7 June 2014. The race was won by the favourite,Australia, a British-bredchestnut, trained in Ireland byAidan O'Brien and ridden by O'Brien's sonJoseph. Australia's victory gave Aidan O'Brien his third consecutive victory in the race, and his fifth in all, afterGalileo (2001),High Chaparral (2002),Camelot (2012) andRuler of the World (2013).
The initial entry for the 2014 Epsom Derby, announced in December 2012, consisted of 406yearlings. The number of entries was 32 fewer than for the 2013 race and included 68 fromGodolphin Racing and 56 from the partners of theCoolmore Stud.[1] The number of potential runners was reduced to 118 at the first scratching date in March 2014,[2] and subsequently increased to 133 when a further 15 horses were entered at the second entry stage in April 2014.[3] The field for the Derby began to take its final shape at the May scratching deadline when 27 runners were left in the race,[4] and the final confirmation stage on 2 June saw the final field settled at 17 runners with 11 further withdrawals and the additional entry of Romsdal at a cost of £75,000.[5] Snow Sky was withdrawn at the declaration stage on 5 June, leaving 16 runners to contest the 2014 Derby.[6]
On 7 June, 100,000 spectators including theQueen were in attendance at Epsom for the 235th running of the Derby.[7] After heavy rain in the morning,[8] the race was run in fine weather and the going was officially described as "good". Australia started 11/8 favourite ahead ofKingston Hill (15/2) and True Story (8/1). The O'Brien stable's other contenders were Geoffrey Chaucer, Orchestra (winner of theChester Vase) and Kingfisher (Dee Stakes). Ireland was also represented by theJohn Oxx-trained Ebanoran and theDermot Weld-trained Fascinating Rock who had filled the first two places in theDerrinstown Stud Derby Trial. John Gosden saddled two runners: Western Hymn (Sandown Classic Trial) and Romsdal, whilst the Peter Chapple-Hyam stable was represented by Arod. The 50/1 outsider Our Channel took the early lead and set a strong pace from Kingfisher, with Kingston Hill next. Soon after the turn into the straight Kingston Hill went to the front as Australia made rapid progress on the outside. Australia took the lead approaching the final furlong and held off the renewed challenge of Kingston Hill to win by one and a quarter lengths. Romsdal finished third ahead of Arod and the 100/1 outsider Red Galileo.[9]
After the race, Aidan O'Brien said: "A long time ago we thought he was very special, we wanted to be here with him, but you can never be sure because there are so many variables. Things can go wrong so big credit to everyone at home". Joseph O'Brien commented, "horses don't come any easier to ride than this one. He's the best."[10] Roger Varian, trainer of Kingston Hill, expressed his belief that his horse might take on Australia again, saying "The winner is very good and the Guineas form has stood up. I knew how tough my horse is and I was very confident he’d get the trip so I’m hoarse from cheering him. I knew he’d go down fighting. We’ll see what paths we both go down now and they could meet again.”[11]
| Dist * | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | SP | |
| 1 | Australia | Joseph O'Brien | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 11/8 fav | |
| 2 | 1¼ | Kingston Hill | Andrea Atzeni | Roger Varian | 15/2 |
| 3 | 3¼ | Romsdal | Richard Hughes | John Gosden | 20/1 |
| 4 | 3¾ | Arod | Jamie Spencer | Peter Chapple-Hyam | 20/1 |
| 5 | 1¼ | Red Galileo | Oisin Murphy | Ed Dunlop | 100/1 |
| 6 | hd | Western Hymn | William Buick | John Gosden | 10/1 |
| 7 | ¾ | True Story | Kieren Fallon | Saeed bin Suroor | 8/1 |
| 8 | 1 | Fascinating Rock | Pat Smullen | Dermot Weld (IRE) | 12/1 |
| 9 | 1½ | Ebanoran | Declan McDonogh | John Oxx (IRE) | 12/1 |
| 10 | 2 | Kingfisher | Colm O'Donoghue | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 50/1 |
| 11 | 1¼ | Impulsive Moment | David Probert | Andrew Balding | 50/1 |
| 12 | 1½ | Orchestra | Seamie Heffernan | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 16/1 |
| 13 | 1¼ | Our Channel | Silvestre de Sousa | William Haggas | 50/1 |
| 14 | 10 | Pinzolo | James Doyle | Charlie Appleby | 40/1 |
| 15 | ½ | Sudden Wonder | Kevin Manning | Charlie Appleby | 66/1 |
| 16 | 61 | Geoffrey Chaucer | Ryan Moore | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 10/1 |
* The distances between the horses are shown inlengths or shorter;hd = head.
† Trainers are based inGreat Britain unless indicated.
Further details of the winner, :
Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2013
Early-season appearances in 2014 andtrial races prior to running in the Derby:
Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby:
Leading progeny of participants in the 2014 Epsom Derby.[12][13][14]
Australia (3rd)