Ruby Walsh believes time may well prove the best horse won Saturday's Investec Derby.
The all-the-way win for Serpentine left many scratching their heads and questioning the jockeys in behind who allowed the son of Galileo to open up an ultimately unassailable lead.
The former jockey and now leading TV pundit though feels that as good a ride as it was Emmet McNamara, he might well have been on the best colt anyway.
Writing in his Paddy Power blog, Walsh said: "Only time will tell whether Serpentine was the best horse in last Saturday’s Epsom Derby. When you look at the clock and at the fractions and you take in as much information as you can in the cold light of day, the best horse may well have won the Derby.
"The more you look at it, the fact that none of English King, Kameko, Mogul or Russian Emperor could get by Amhran Na Bhfiann tells its own story. Even if you take Serpentine out of the race, would you have said that the big guns are too far behind the second and third placed horses in Khalifa Sat and Amhran Na Bhfiann? I wouldn’t think so.
"Like you could throw a blanket over Amhran Na Bhfiann, Kameko, English King, Mogul and Russian Emperor. Whether they weren’t good enough or not, the fact of the matter is that Emmett McNamara gave the winner a very good ride. The clock says that as well. Maybe it was a case that Serpentine was the overlooked horse in the race and nothing else.
"Maybe apart from English King, who got a slow start, there were no unlucky stories in the race. Like Amhran Na Bhfiann raced in third and finished in the same spot. The rest couldn’t get by him. I know English King broke left and gave away ground at the start. Oisin Murphy was conscious about whether Kameko would stay the trip or not and beforehand, I wasn’t sold on Mogul.
"Yes, I know Serpentine did poach a big lead and people might say that I’m talking rubbish but if you want to break it down, take the winner out of the race. Look at the placed horses, it makes you think that the best horse won."
- For more from Ruby Walsh including his latest horse racing tips head over to Paddy Power News
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