Punters left to rue low rating of High Rise

In many ways, Saturday's Vodafone Epsom Derby revolved around the only colt never to have been beaten and the only colt never to have won.

High Rise's 20 to 1 success under French champion jockey Olivier Peslier was, in hindsight, not as unlikely as the punters and the pundits had thought.

Three runs and three wins in a career that echoed remarkably Luca Cumani's previous Derby winner, Kahyasi, 10 years ago. High Rise had done nothing wrong and had never been fully exposed. In hindsight, what was he doing at 20 to 1?

Hindsight is a cheat, though. Before the race, 20 to 1 looked about right for a Derby that appeared well above average.

The Godolphin filly Cape Verdi, the progressive Greek Dance and the Aidan O'Brien trio, who created even more eve-of-race drama with their delayed flight and police-escorted box ride to the track, presented limitless possibilities. And against those possibilities, Sunshine Street looked a real bit player.

Five starts and five seconds were on Sunshine Street's CV. Enough for the bookmakers to dismiss his chance with a 150 to 1 quote, yet he was the only one of the Irish with a chance after grabbing the race by the scruff of the neck from the start.

And what a chance that seemed early in the straight. "At the two-furlong marker I was starting to get a few butterflies as they weren't getting to me yet," John Murtagh reported back to Noel Meade, and even though High Rise and the Godolphin second string, City Honours, headed Sunshine Street half a furlong later, it was cruel luck when Border Arrow ran on late to deprive him of third by a head.

It was still a remarkable effort and one which has Meade dreaming of Sunshine Street landing that elusive first victory in the Irish Derby. Not that Sunshine Street will be all that is on Meade's mind on June 28th. A die-hard Meath football fan, Meade admitted that perfection would be achieved if either the Curragh classic or Meath's clash with Louth, scheduled for the same day, was switched. "As much as I'd like to be in Croke Park, I suppose the day job will have to come first!" Meade said yesterday.

Meade reported Sunshine Street to have taken Saturday's race "perfectly" and wasn't that surprised with events 24 hours earlier. "I know it's the biggest race in the world and his form wasn't obvious, but we felt his Leopardstown Trial run wasn't bad and Risk Material slipped the field that day. We're thrilled with how well he ran."

The Irish Derby will see both High Rise and City Honours renew hostilities as well. Kahyasi did the double for Cumani and High Rise appears to be of the same ilk.

"They are very similar," Cumani said. "High Rise has the ability to relax, let the others fight it out, and then use his fantastic turn of speed at the finish. Olivier gave him a peach of a ride." The stewards, however, were less impressed with the brilliant Frenchman, and gave him a two-day whip ban.

"It's possible I wouldn't have won if I hadn't used my whip. Imagine if I hadn't used it and he had finished second. What would they have said then," Peslier asked, although the 27-year-old had the air of a man for whom a two-day ban was a good swap for becoming the first French jockey since Yves St Martin in 1963 to win the Derby.

The Godolphin team were very disappointed with the performance of the favourite Cape Verdi - "Coming down the hill, I wasn't happy and she probably didn't stay or handle the track," reported Frankie Dettori - but thrilled with City Honours.

Significantly, Saeed Bin Suroor said: "We're very happy with him and he will improve. I was confident he'd be in the first three and to finish so well is great."

Greek Dance, in fifth, finished best of the market leaders but Aidan O'Brien's three representatives disappointed, despite King Of Kings and Second Empire being well-backed. Second Empire didn't stay while King Of Kings finished so lame that his racing future is in doubt.

O'Brien didn't blame the flight delay which caused a brief scare on Saturday morning and although both sweated up quite badly, O'Brien commented: "There wasn't a horse in the race who didn't sweat up. It was a very warm day."

Indeed, it was a day which mirrored the fierce competition on the track. After the last-gasp win of Benny The Dip over Silver Patriarch last year, High Rise and City Honours provided another dramatic finale, so much so that a gleeful Peslier smiled: "I only thought I had won 100 metres after the goal!"

Hindsight again.