HARZAND completed the English-Irish Derby double with a battling display at the Curragh.
His old rival Idaho did not go down without a fight and forced Harzand to show his guts and heart to gain a second Derby victory.
The leading pair pulled clear in the final quarter-mile, with Stellar Mass in third and Ed Dunlop’s Red Verdon running on well for fourth.
But at the business end it was the two protagonists who quickly put daylight between their rivals and there was nothing between them until Harzand proved the stronger close home to become the 18th horse to complete the Derby double.
Weld said: “I knew Aidan would have his horse better than at Epsom so I knew our horse had to be better than at Epsom to win again.
“He ran a magnificent race. He showed the speed that he has today. People were saying he didn’t have speed, well you saw it today.
“Those two horses really picked up and quickened. Idaho is a high-class horse, he’s always been that and he was at his best today. It was a great day, a great ride – a special day. It was a proper horse race.
“He’ll have a good break now and we’ll train him for the Arc.”
Weld had been somewhat guarded on his chance at the beginning of the week and added: “I was concerned because he had a very hard race at Epsom. We always knew he was very tough, but he had to be 110 per cent today.
“This is a very, very special race and I’ve been enjoying it since I was a child. I’ve been fortunate enough to win it three times now.”
The Aga Khan said: “This horse is very good. It’s a wonderful family and we checked him with all our mares and he’ll mate very well with them, so we’re looking forward to when he goes to stud and we’ll be right behind him.
“Things are shaping up very well. I’m not sure we really know his limits. Neither at Epsom nor here, I don’t think we’ve seen the best of this horse, he can do more.”
Smullen said: “He’s such a great horse, he’s got such courage and determination. Ryan came with one good determined run, I needed this horse to dig deep for me and he did – how good is he?
“I don’t think I’ve ever ridden such a courageous horse. I just can’t get over his courage in the last half-furlong.
“This matches Epsom, in front of our home crowd. The pressure was on and we pulled it off. He’s a dual Derby winner now.
“You can give horses good rides, bad rides – but when they’re as good as this lad and they’re as determined as this horse it just makes it easy. There’s no knowing where this horse will end up.
“He’s so tough and he’s not just tough, he’s got pace. He’s a very, very good horse and I’d love to think he’d be an Arc horse.”
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