{"id":22141,"date":"2021-06-27T10:48:01","date_gmt":"2021-06-27T14:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22141"},"modified":"2021-06-28T10:51:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T14:51:44","slug":"22141","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=22141","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Lane Wins Irish Derby at the Curragh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jockey William Buick with Hurricane Lane celebrates after winning the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh Racecourse in Co Kildare (PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>Hurricane Lane just got up in the closing stages to deny Lone Eagle as the British raiders dominated the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.<\/p>\n

Third at Epsom behind stablemate Adayar, Charlie Appleby made no secret of the fact he expected Hurricane Lane to come out on top that day.<\/p>\n

Winner of the Dante Stakes at York prior to his big date at Epsom, Hurricane Lane met with his first defeat there but regained the winning thread under William Buick.<\/p>\n

Frankie Dettori looked to have stolen the Classic on Martyn Meade\u2019s Lone Eagle, shooting three lengths clear with two furlongs to run.<\/p>\n

There was plenty of trouble in running for those in behind though, with Hurricane Lane seemingly edging right in the melee, but once straightened out he began to make ground relentlessly, eventually prevailing by a neck.<\/p>\n

The pair pulled seven lengths clear of Wordsworth in third, with a stewards\u2019 inquiry swiftly called but the placings remained unaltered. Buick was given a two-day suspension though.<\/p>\n

\u201cFantastic \u2013 this means the world to me,\u201d said Buick.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must give credit to Charlie Appleby and the team at Moulton Paddocks at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis horse has done nothing but improve \u2013 and he improved since Epsom. We all know that\u2019s not an easy thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in a very privileged position and I must say that I thought halfway through the race that we\u2019d given up our position behind Frankie a little bit, and I thought he\u2019d get first run.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy horse quickened up really well and showed a lot of quality out there today.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I switched him out wide, he managed to get some clear running room and he took off. I was just praying I\u2019d get the leader in time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a very, very good horse. We obviously fancied him at Epsom and today he\u2019s improved again.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the world to me but I have to give a massive thank you to the team at home and obviously His Highness Sheikh Mohammed as well. He puts so much into it. No one deserves it more than he does.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis horse is a slow-learner, a bit like myself, but we\u2019ll get there in the end!\u201d<\/p>\n

Appleby felt Hurricane Lane had made significant strides after Epsom and had full confidence in his staying abilities.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI couldn\u2019t have been any happier coming into the race. I felt that he gained experience at Epsom. He surprised me at Epsom as I thought he would travel better but inexperience showed around there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was noticeable after Epsom how he\u2019d grown up, his work was sharper. The only negative today was the ground tightening up over the last 24 hours and coming down the hill William came under the pump a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce he met the rising ground again, I was confident that he would gallop all the way to the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought that Frankie had stolen a march and he\u2019d be a hard horse to peg back, but I knew our horse would keep galloping to the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Adayar set to represent the team in next month\u2019s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, Appleby will take his time in mapping out Hurricane Lane\u2019s next target.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe have no immediate plans. Adayar is going to head to the King George and I\u2019d say we will sit tight until the King George and see what unfolds there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big disappointment of the race was the favorite, Aidan O\u2019Brien\u2019s High Definition, who was one of the first horses beaten.<\/p>\n

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