Ranking Aidan O'Brien's nine winners of the Derby by Timeform ratings
Tony McFadden ranks Aidan O'Brien's nine Derby winners based on the Timeform performance rating they achieved at Epsom.
Galileo (132) - 2001
Aidan O'Brien's first Derby winner was also his best one as Galileo produced a top-class display to beat 2000 Guineas winner Golan by three and a half lengths at Epsom.
His Derby performance rating of 132 is the same figure that Authorized (2007) and Workforce (2009) earned for their wide-margin victories, while only Sinndar (134 in 2000) has achieved higher this century.
Galileo would better his Derby performance in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, earning a rating of 134 that only Hawk Wing (136) has exceeded for O'Brien. However, Galileo's influence extends far beyond his exploits on the racetrack.
He established himself as one of the all-time great stallions and, among his many achievements, has sired five winners of the Derby at Epsom, including four trained by O'Brien (Ruler of The World, Australia, Anthony Van Dyck and Serpentine).
High Chaparral (130) - 2002
Hawk Wing was sent off as favourite for the Derby on the back of an excellent second in the 2000 Guineas but he again had to settle for second behind a stablemate. However, whereas Hawk Wing was unlucky in the 2000 Guineas, thundering home to easily beat those in his group, he was simply beaten by a rival better suited to the test in the Derby.
High Chaparral wasn't as flashy as Hawk Wing, but he was a thorough stayer and, in a race run at a searching gallop on easy ground, that proved key.
Hawk Wing looked to be going best when looming up two furlongs out but High Chaparral, who had been hard ridden around the home turn, found plenty for pressure and had two lengths to spare at the line over the runner-up who pulled 12 lengths clear of the third.
High Chaparral would underline his status as a top-class racehorse by winning the Irish Derby and Breeders' Cup Turf later in his three-year-old campaign before returning at four to win the Irish Champion Stakes and sharing the spoils in an epic finish to the Breeders' Cup Turf. His peak Timeform annual rating of 132 identifies him as joint-tenth among O'Brien's best horses.
Camelot (128) - 2012
O'Brien's first two Derby winners had won the Ballysax and Derrinstown trials en route to Epsom but Camelot started his campaign by winning the 2000 Guineas, raising the tantalising prospect of a Triple Crown bid which hadn't been successfully completed by a colt since Nijinsky in 1970.
The stoutly-bred Camelot had only just got away with the mile in the 2000 Guineas and he duly improved for the step up to a mile and a half in the Derby.
It wasn't a strong Derby - the nine-runner field was the smallest for the race since 1907 - but, even taking that into account, Camelot won in impressive style to earn a rating of 128 that marked him out as an above-average winner.
The level he showed at Epsom gave him outstanding claims in the St Leger and he lined up at Doncaster as the 2/5 favourite having also won the Irish Derby in the interim. However, he failed to run up to his best and had to settle for second behind Encke.
Australia (127) - 2014
Australia also tackled the 2000 Guineas on his seasonal reappearance but he competed in a much stronger edition than Camelot and had to settle for minor honours behind Night of Thunder and Kingman.
Similarly to Camelot, Australia's pedigree suggested that he would thrive over middle-distances - by Galileo and out of Oaks winner Ouija Board - and he duly built on his promising Guineas effort to beat subsequent St Leger winner Kingston Hill by a length and a quarter at Epsom.
A bare performance rating of 127 is still above average for a Derby winner but the smooth style of Australia's success suggested that he was capable of even better. He proved that point in the Juddmonte International, producing a top-class display to earn a rating of 132.
Auguste Rodin (125) - 2023
Connections also viewed Auguste Rodin as a possible Triple Crown contender ahead of his three-year-old campaign but he ran no sort of race in the 2000 Guineas after meeting with some early interference. He proved a completely different proposition at Epsom, though, and bounced right back to go one better in an Epsom classic than his dam, Rhododendron, who was runner-up to Enable in the 2017 Oaks.
Auguste Rodin's winning form as a juvenile had come on testing ground but he proved well suited by the firmer conditions at Epsom where he kept on well to overhaul King of Steel who had quickened up best off the modest pace.
Auguste Rodin, who clearly stayed the trip well on his first attempt at a mile and a half, scored by half a length, while the runner-up pulled four and three-quarter lengths clear of the third. His rating of 125 is the benchmark of high-class form with Timeform and is pretty much on standard for a Derby winner in the past decade.
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Anthony Van Dyck (123) - 2019
There was a blanket finish to the 2019 Derby and it was Anthony Van Dyck, one of seven runners for O'Brien in the 14-strong field, who got the verdict.
Anthony Van Dyck, who had won the Lingfield Derby Trial on his reappearance, looked an unlikely winner for much of the way as he raced in snatches, had to be pushed along at halfway and was ridden on the home turn, but he stayed on well to lead inside the final furlong.
The fact little more than half a length split the first five home cast doubt about the strength of the form and Anthony Van Dyck's performance is rated slightly lower than an average Derby winner in the last decade, though he did go on to show better form when runner-up under topweight in the Caulfield Cup the following season before meeting a sad end when fracturing a fetlock in the Melbourne Cup.
Wings of Eagles (123) - 2017
There was a top-class colt in the 2017 Derby as the John Gosden-trained Cracksman went on to establish himself as Frankel's best son with a couple of wide-margin wins in the Champion Stakes. However, he found the Derby coming too soon in his development and had to settle for third behind a pair of O'Brien runners.
Cliffs of Moher had looked like O'Brien's best chance after posting an impressive success in the Dee Stakes, but it was 40/1 shot Wings of Eagles, the Chester Vase runner-up, who came out on top. Wings of Eagles was a surprise winner, though he won on merit on the day, arguably deserving a bit of extra credit for overcoming trouble in running.
He won in promising style, but given the relatively narrow margins involved earned a rating slightly lower than an average Derby winner. He didn't get much of a chance to improve on that form as he was retired after suffering a career-ending injury when a close-up third in the Irish Derby.
Serpentine (122) - 2020
The 2020 Derby was an unusual one as due to the Covid pandemic it took place a month later than usual and behind closed doors. And the action on the course was also unconventional as Serpentine, a 25/1 shot having won his maiden only seven days earlier, established an early advantage, went clear after four furlongs, quickened further ahead approaching Tattenham Corner and essentially won unchallenged, passing the post five and a half lengths clear.
As a well-bred, unexposed colt in excellent hands it seemed dangerous at the time to assume his victory was as a result of the tactical advantage he enjoyed at Epsom. However, he never got close to replicating that form subsequently, suggesting he had been seen to very good effect at Epsom, and he ended up being sold to Australia and gelded.
Ruler of the World (120) - 2013
The 2013 Derby revolved around whether the Jim Bolger-trained Dawn Approach, the highest-rated 2000 Guineas winner this century after Frankel, would stay a mile and a half as he was 12 lb clear on ratings. However, he pulled far too hard and was a spent force early in the early straight, folding tamely after being headed three furlongs out.
His eclipse meant the race took less winning than might otherwise have been the case, and the way the race developed wasn't conducive to a big figure being clocked as a fair early gallop eased notably mid-race before it developed into something of a sprint finish.
Ruler of The World, who hadn't made his debut until April of his three-year-old campaign, wasn't well placed towards the rear in a race run at a muddling pace, but he was pulled out to get clear sailing early in the straight and came with a sweeping run to win by a length and a half.
The only Derby winner this century with a lower bare performance rating than his 120 is Sir Percy (119 in 2006), though Ruler of The World did go on to show high-class form when a close-up third behind Farhh and Cirrus des Aigles in the Champion Stakes.
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