This time the high was natural, the stimulant the rare accolade of being a Derby-winning jockey. In 2min 33.02sec, Padraig Beggy’s wilderness years were over.
Understandably, the 31-year-old could barely contain himself, jigging and bobbing with delight at the post-race press conference for all the world as if he was still on Wings Of Eagles.
Beggy’s career, blighted by a 15-month ban after he tested positive for cocaine in Australia in 2014 — his spot of bother, as he called it — and the limited opportunities that are afforded a supposed journeyman, seemed destined to be a mere racing footnote.
Instead his exploits in his first ride in the classic have garnered headlines around the world as the 40-1 outsider provided the biggest-priced winner of the Derby since Snow Knight, at 50-1, in 1974. That is the beauty of sport, the ability to forgive, offer a second chance and rehabilitate.
Not everyone takes it. But credit must go to Beggy for doing so, working hard, keeping his head down and hoping for that elusive break. Credit, too, in the first place to Aidan O’Brien for offering Beggy a shot at redemption.
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There are many superlatives one can write about O’Brien with regard to his genius as a trainer. But the one that had perhaps been overlooked was that of empathy. He looks for and sees the best in everyone.
O’Brien said: “Padraig is a world-class rider. He has been with us a good while now and we really appreciate his work day in, day out. There was no question that he wouldn’t ride.”
When Beggy returned from Sydney, it was to Ballydoyle that he went in January 2015, O’Brien having been persuaded that the jockey had the requisite ability and that in the right environment he might thrive. He was low down the riding pecking order but such is the depth of equine talent under O’Brien’s control, that if Beggy was going to get the sort of chance he craved, then it would only be at Ballydoyle. Six of the 18-strong field were his, but even O’Brien was scratching his head in slight disbelief at the outcome.
At Epsom, Wings Of Eagles came from as far back in the field as, metaphorically, Beggy had done. Coming into the straight, the son of Pour Moi — winner in 2011 — had only two horses behind him.
Up front, two of O’Brien’s sextet — Douglas Macarthur and The Anvil — were setting a searching pace. Wings of Eagles’ move through the field was barely noticed and not straightforward as he reconnoitred tiring horses. A switch to the left soon became one to the right and suddenly he had a clear run. How he made the most of it.
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Inside the final furlong he ate up five lengths in rapid time. Ahead and on his inside was Ryan Moore on Cliffs Of Moher, who seemed to be poised to justify the hopes of his connections. Indeed, Moore said aftewards that he thought he had won. But there was Beggy, hurtling past and over the line by a margin of three quarters of a length.
“I never thought of giving up [after his ban],” Beggy said. “Not being able to ride anywhere was the hardest part. I played lots of golf, got down to 14 [handicap]. Aidan is a marvellous man to train a horse and he is also a fair man, you know. I owe him a lot.”
David Nicholls dies
David “Dandy” Nicholls, who excelled as a trainer of sprinters on the Flat, has died at the age of 61. A former jockey, who was best known for his association with the brilliant sprinter Soba, Nicholls proved an even better trainer and enjoyed group one success through the likes of Continent, Bahamian Pirate and Regal Parade, as well as landing a host of valuable handicaps, including six victories in the Ayr Gold Cup. His wife, Alex Greaves, and son, Adrian, were also successful jockeys.