Blast From The Past: Irish Derby

Derby winner Harzand could bid to follow up his Epsom success earlier in the month with victory in the Irish Derby on Saturday. If successful at the Curragh, he’ll become the seventeenth colt to have completed the Anglo-Irish Derby double since 1962 when the Irish Derby was raised significantly in value.

Derby winners are not always required to show the same level of performance to follow up at the Curragh – that was the case, for example, in 1981 when Shergar, who had been an outstanding winner at Epsom, toyed with inferior opponents in Ireland. But it was a very different story ten years later when another top-drawer Derby winner, Generous, came up against a colt who was a serious rival to the Epsom winner for the title of Europe’s best middle-distance performer that season.

Generous had routed his rivals when winning the Derby by five lengths, but days earlier Suave Dancer had won the French equivalent, the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, in spectacular fashion too, by four lengths. The Irish Derby, therefore, had all the makings of a decisive clash between the two colts, both of whom, incidentally, were grandsons of triple crown winner Nijinsky who had himself won the Irish Derby after winning at Epsom. In a field of six, the only others who could be given any sort of chance were the unbeaten Irish colt Sportsworld and the Irish 2000 Guineas runner-up Star of Gdansk, though he’d been beaten a dozen lengths into third behind Generous at Epsom.

With Generous the even-money favourite and Suave Dancer sent off at 9/4, here’s how Racehorses described the contest:

‘With no strong-galloping front-runner in the field, Generous was sent on after about half a mile, and when he stretched out in earnest soon after rounding the home turn only Suave Dancer…could stay with him. Suave Dancer threw down his challenge at the two-furlong marker, drawing almost alongside, but Generous proved the stronger and ran on stoutly to win most decisively. Suave Dancer began hanging towards the rail when he had no more to give and was beaten three lengths (officially that is; it looked slightly less); third-placed Star of Gdansk finished eight lengths behind Suave Dancer, virtually reproducing his Epsom running with Generous.’

It wasn’t to be the only meeting between Generous and Suave Dancer, but their subsequent rematch in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that autumn was something of an anti-climax, all the more so because both colts had enhanced their reputations still further in the meantime. Generous went on to put up another brilliant performance, winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes by seven lengths, while Suave Dancer stormed home by four lengths again (after being eased) in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

But while Suave Dancer was still in top form come Arc day, Generous ran a dismal race as favourite when behind him in eighth and was afterwards reported to have been a sick horse. Generous, though, had the edge on Timeform annual ratings, earning 139 to Suave Dancer’s 136.