Los Angeles holds off Ambiente Friendly to take Irish Derby

No one was cooler than the colt Los Angeles and jockey Ryan Moore in Sunday’s Group 1 Irish Derby at the Curragh in Ireland.

Winning a Group 1 for the first time this year, Los Angeles ($5.40 in American pools) rallied on the rail early in the three-furlong stretch and fought off a sustained challenge from even-money favorite Ambiente Friendly to win the $1.33 million Irish Derby at 1 1/2 miles.

Los Angeles won by three-quarters of a length over 20-1 Sunway, who closed from the back of the field of eight to gain second in the final strides. Sunway finished a half-length in front of a tiring Ambiente Friendly, who was supplemented to the Irish Derby last week for approximately $107,100.

Ambiente Friendly earned approximately $120,400 by finishing third.

Los Angeles, a colt by Camelot who races for the Coolmore syndicate and Georg van Opel and trainer Aidan O’Brien, earned approximately $763,000 for the win.

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The result was a reversal of the Group 1 English Derby when Los Angeles finished third, six lengths behind stablemate City of Troy, widely seen as Europe’s leading 3-year-old. Ambiente Friendly was second in the English Derby.

O’Brien won the Irish Derby for a record 16th time with Los Angeles, who represented Moore’s second win. O’Brien and Moore teamed to win the 2023 running of the Irish Derby with Auguste Rodin, who later won the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita last November.

Los Angeles has won 4 of 5 starts. Last fall, Los Angeles won the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud at 1 1/4 miles for 2-year-olds in Paris in his final start of the year.

Dubai Honour Prevails at Saint-Cloud

The well-traveled 6-year-old gelding Dubai Honour won his third Group 1 race in his 24th start with a minor upset in Sunday’s $428,500 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at 1 1/2 miles at Saint-Cloud Racecourse in Paris.

Dubai Honour ($16.60) stalked the pace in a field of seven to early stretch before taking the lead with less than a quarter-mile remaining. Ridden by Tom Marquand, Dubai Honour won by 1 3/4 lengths over 5-1 Feed the Flame, who finished a neck in front of 9-2 Point Lonsdale. Iresine, the 2-1 favorite, closed from the back of the field to finish fourth, beaten 2 3/4 lengths.

The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was Dubai Honour’s first Group 1 stakes win since the $3.36 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Australia, in April 2023. Dubai Honour, an eight-time winner, has started in 12 Group 1 races in five countries.

Trained in Britain by William Haggas for Mohamed Obaida, Dubai Honour won for the second time in four starts this year on Sunday.

Dubai Honor won the minor Magnolia Stakes on the all-weather track at Kempton Park near London in his 2024 debut on April 1. He later finished seventh in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on April 28, and third in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly at Chantilly Racecourse north of Paris on June 2.

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