Curragh officials hope to revitalize Irish Derby

The quality of the Irish Derby has come under scrutiny in recent years, and

the flames were fanned once again after heavily favored Australia trounced just

four rivals including two stablemates in Saturday's renewal of the Curragh

classic.

The day-of scratching of Kingston Hill, winner of the Racing Post Trophy and

runner-up to Australia in the Epsom Derby, and Ballydoyle's highly regarded

Geoffrey Chaucer resulted in the second five horse field for the Irish Derby in

three years, and left many wondering how the classic can be revitalized.

Brian Kavanagh, Chief Executive of Horse Racing Ireland, revealed Monday that

he would meet with his counterparts in Britain and France at the end of July to

discuss Europe's classic calendar. Kavanagh said that the reduction of the Prix

du Jockey Club (French Derby) to 1 1/4 miles from 1 1/2 miles 10 years ago is

one of a number of factors impacting the Irish Derby's quality, as it no long

serves as the tie-breaker for the English and French Derby winners.

"Racegoers at the Curragh on Saturday saw a great horse, but we want them to

see a great race," Kavanagh said. "It's been 10 years now since the French Derby

changed in distance, but in recent years the (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

II Stakes) has also had a lack of three-year-old contenders. I think the Irish

Derby suffers because there are so many alternatives for the three-year-olds at

this time. In the past the Irish Derby was always the title decider, but that is

not the case anymore, and it's worth looking at."

Kavanagh noted that the Irish Derby has suffered from a handful of

high-profile scratches in recent years, including New Approach in 2008 and Sea

the Stars in 2009. He said he thinks the trend is a reflection of the wide range

of options available, rather than the Curragh itself.

"I've been racecourse manager at the Curragh and the ground never gets really

fast there," Kavanagh said. "It's like a Links golf course -- it's spongy grass.

I just think there are too many alternative options. While the crowd saw a great

horse in Australia, it wasn't a great race, and we need to get the opposition to

turn up. It's not (Australia's trainer) Aidan O'Brien's fault."

O'Brien, who was earning his 11th Irish Derby title and trained the top three

finishers in the race for the fifth time, came out in defense of Saturday's

renewal.

"If there were 30 horses behind (Australia), the pace would have been the

same, so there was no difference -- it was a proper-run race," O'Brien told At

The Races. "The quality of the race was a lot higher than anybody thinks."

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