Trading Leather successful in Irish Derby, as Ruler Of The World disappoints - Horseracing News
Trading Leather secured a comfortable victory in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Group 1) at Curragh in Ireland on Saturday, June 29, 2013.
There were some fine runners lined up for competition in the race but no one was able to pose a challenge to the victorious stallion, who secured the top spot by a comfortable margin of almost two lengths.
The winning trainer Jim Bolger said of the result, “It doesn't get much better than this. We were very pleased with his Dante run, his first run of the year and he hadn't a great run up to that. We knew he'd improve a lot and [when
he was third in the Irish Guineas], we got side-tracked but we had this race in mind all along.”
This was the third consecutive appearance for Trading Leather at Curragh, which shows that he was being prepared for the Irish Derby. In his first race at the venue, he was unable to take the top spot but performed decently, ending
up third overall.
Afterwards, the three-year-old colt has won a couple of back-to-back races, which would have boosted his confidence and he will definitely be considered as a strong contender in the upcoming competitions.
Trading Leather was not rated as the favourite to win at Curragh, as the bookies had priced him 6 to 1 for the Irish Derby. Since the ground was fast, he had the opportunity to come out with full force. He was controlled nicely
by jockey Kevin Manning, who pushed at the right moment inside the final furlong.
Bolger had opted not to run his challenger in the Royal Ascot and that decision paid off for him at the end of the day.
On the other hand, veteran trainer Aidan O’Brien would have been disappointed with the performance of Ruler Of The World, who was rated as the odds-on favourite for the Irish Derby. Since beating Dawn Approach in the Investec Derby,
he has really been in the spotlight.
However, the three-year-old could not do any better than fifth. Looking at the reasons behind the loss, O’Brien said, “Joseph's [O'Brien] first thoughts were that he did not get the trip. He could be more of a 1m2f horse at the
top level. He also did get very warm, which he hadn't done at Epsom.”
Prior to the all important event at Curragh, Ruler Of The World had taken part in three races and managed to win all of them.
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