June 28 - They say you cannot keep a good racehorse trainer down, and Ireland's Aidan O'Brien proved that yet again yesterday (Sunday, June 27) by winning his fifth consecutive Irish Derby (Gr 1), this time with colt Cape Blanco.

What's more, runners from O'Brien's Ballydoyle stable snatched second and third place, giving the champion trainer a 'clean sweep' in Ireland's biggest race, which is run every year at the Curragh in County Kildare over 1 1/2 miles.

If the excited Curragh crowd were looking forward to a 'humdinger' of a race, then that's precisely what they got as soon as the day's feature got underway. Early on it was apparent that O'Brien's charges were in a league of their own.

In the final stages, champion Irish jockey, Johnny Murtagh, made a final push aboard Cape Blanco (7/2) to overtake the colt's stablemate and eventual runner-up, Midas Touch (9/2), who in turn led in fellow stablemate, Jan Vermeer (4/1).

The win took on a greater meaning when it was revealed that Murtagh had his pick of runners ahead of the Derby, but followed his gut by choosing Cape Blanco. Plus, he started in the big race despite suffering a nasty fall in race 1.

The champion jockey was lucky to escape serious injury after he took a nasty spill early on in the day aboard Petronius Maximus. But despite sporting a few nasty bruises, Murtagh rallied to fulfill all of his riding commitments on Sunday.

Said a thrilled O'Brien after the race, 'We were delighted with Cape Blanco in the Dante [Stakes], but we couldn't understand what happened in France. He was not the same horse. Something was bothering him. He just didn't fire.'

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Our Lukas has Weighted chance in Caloundra Cup - 06-29-10

Pletcher Hoping for Win in Mother Goose Stakes - 06-25-10

Irish Racehorse Owner Puts One Over Bookies - 06-24-10

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2011/12/09 12:47:20 AM