Frozen fires O’Brien to record sixth Derby win

Jun 30 2008 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

FROZEN FIRE swooped late to land the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh to give trainer Aidan O’Brien a record-equalling sixth success in the Classic.

O’Brien equalled the legendary Vincent O’Brien’s haul with Frozen Fire’s win.

As last year when one of the outsiders of the Ballydoyle team, Soldier Of Fortune, won ahead of better fancied stable-mates, so 16-1 chance Frozen Fire got the better of some shorter-priced rivals. And it was also under last year’s winning jockey and Ballydoyle number two Seamie Heffernan, who produced the Montjeu colt down the centre of the track to score by two lengths from Dermot’s Weld’s Casual Conquest (4-1) in a incident-packed race.

O’Brien’s main hope Alessandro Volta (7-1), under stable jockey Johnny Murtagh, passed the post third but was demoted due to interference caused to evens favourite and fourth home Tartan Bearer and Curtain Call when he veered violently left inside the last couple of furlongs.

Frozen Fire – who was second to Tartan Bearer in the Dante Stakes, but could only manage 11th in the Vodafone Derby at Epsom – came good to give O’Brien his third Irish Derby win in a row following Dylan Thomas’s success in 2006 and Solider Of Fortune 12 months ago.

O’Brien said: “Frozen Fire was second in the Dante but got trapped back in the Derby.

“Mick (Kinane) came in and said he was very happy with him and that he was a very good horse.

“All we wanted was an even, strong gallop and this is great for everyone involved as there are so many people in the team who make this happen.

“All of ours have ran great races, but I think Alessandro Volta got stage-fright when he turned into the straight and he wouldn’t have seen a crowd like that in front of him before.

“This is a very special race and is a full test over a mile and a half.

“The Curragh is probably the greatest racecourse in the world as it is a very fair track and really tests a horse over a mile and a half.”

As well as the incidents during the 1m4f Group One contest, there was also the withdrawal of Epsom hero New Approach in the morning due to an injury.

O’Brien added: “I hope New Approach does come back but the pace at Epsom slowed at halfway.

“When we want our horses to run we want an even pace to make sure the best horse wins.

“If it isn’t a strong pace then the best horse often does not win, and to have the best horses winning is important for our whole industry.

“It is a real privilege to be mentioned in the same sentence as Dr Vincent O’Brien.”

Heffernan added: “I rode him to run well and it has happened for us.

“I was really happy when I rode him in his last piece of work. I tracked Pat Smullen during the race and he tracked the favourite. When there was trouble in front I pulled out and got a great run.

“I feel on top of the world winning back-to-back Irish Derbys.”

TODAY’S NAP: Naughty Thoughts (8.40pm Windsor).