“I looked after him. I like him and he will be a nice horse”

The Derby runners thunder towards the finish. Picture courtesy of Racingfotos.com

Here’s what the jockeys and trainers had to say after the Investec Derby at Epsom.

2nd, US Army Ranger (Aidan O’Brien) : “He has run a lovely race. I was delighted with him. I think he ran a great race and he was very babyish early on in the contest. I wouldn’t make any excuses as he did run really well. He grew up a lot from Chester but he is still babyish but he continues to improve and we’ll look forward to running him again.

US Army Ranger (Ryan Moore): “He ran great but was a bit inexperienced.”

3rd, Idaho (Aidan O’Brien): “Idaho ran very well. I think he will come forward again for that. He behaved well in the preliminaries and we are very happy with him. We will see how both horses (US Army Ranger being the other) come out of the race but we could think of something like the Irish Derby. You would definitely look forward to seeing them run against one another again.”

Idaho (Seamie Heffernan): “I had a great position and ran very well. There is a chance that he is still a little bit weak. I be surprised if he didn’t do a bit more – it was a lovely ride. He is proper mile-and-a-half and mile-six horse.”

4th, Wings Of Desire (Frankie Dettori): “They went very fast. I couldn’t really travel early doors. I got the split at the right time but I guess the ground was a bit sticky for him and the undulations of the track caught me out a little bit.”

Wings Of Desire (John Gosden): “It was only his fourth outing and he has run a great race. It was a bit rough as usual but no excuses. It was a solid race and he has come from a good way back as have the second and the winner. We were unsuited by the ground – he wants good rather than good to soft which has suited the winner and second better than us. I think the front four are very nice and the winner will be tough to beat anywhere once he gets his ground and you can see how much US Army Ranger has improved from Chester. The Curragh [Irish Derby] could be an obvious target for us – a lovely galloping track which will suit him better than everything else.”

5th, Humphrey Bogart (Sean Levey): “He went very well and I had a great trip round. I am delighted with him, he ran a big race. He probably just ran behind a bunch of classier horses but he has proven himself again with the form. It was an amazing thrill. It is not necessarily the race itself that gets you going but the before and after. I am just delighted to be a part of it.”

Humphrey Bogart (Richard Hannon): “I am absolutely delighted he ran a super race – for a moment when they turned Tattenham Corner he looked very dangerous. There were a lot of good horses behind him. Every time this horse has run he has taken a step up. Today he has taken a massive step up. I will look at the Irish Derby and Royal Ascot. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

7th, Algometer (Jim Crowley): “He got a little worked up before the race and he didn’t travel as well as I think he can. He just lacked a gear but stayed on really well. He will be a good ride in the St Leger.”

9th, Massaat (Paul Hanagan): “He emptied out a bit quickly – it may have been the ground. He travelled well enough in the race.”

10th, Across The Stars (Kieren Fallon): “He travelled well to the top of the hill. Coming down the hill he never acted – he was all over the shop. I looked after him and when we met the rising ground he went on again. I like him and he will be a nice horse.”

11th, Deauville (Jamie Spencer): “The ground was too soft for him.”

14th, Port Douglas (Colm Douglas): “I don’t think the horse liked the ground.”

15th, Shogun (Donnacha O’Brien): “He wasn’t travelling well enough when they quickened up.”

16th, Moonlight Magic (Kevin Manning): “When we started racing four-and-a-half furlongs out he got unbalanced and was very unbalanced coming down the hill.”