{, class="collapsible collapsed" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; float:right; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" width="280px" ! colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; background-color: #77DD77;" , Also Ran The 2021 Epsom Derby was the 242nd annual running of the Derby

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

and took place at

Epsom Downs Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse on the hills associated with Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course, which has a crowd capacity of 13 ...

on 5 June 2021. The race was sponsored for the first time by the online car-dealer Cazoo. The winner was Godolphin's bay colt Adayar, ridden by Adam Kirby and trained at Newmarket by Charlie Appleby. Godolphin and Appleby were winning the race for the second time, having taken the prize with Masar in 2018.

Build-up

Attendance was limited to 4,000 owing to government restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race took place after a period of hot, dry weather and the course officials resorted to watering the course to avoid unsuitably firm ground. The race attracted 19 entrants at the five-day declaration stage, including three previous Group 1 winners, namely

Mac Swiney Mac Swiney (foaled 23 February 2018) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the leading juvenile colts in Europe in 2020 when he won three of his six races including the Futurity Stakes in Ireland and the Vertem Futurity Trophy in B ...

, Van Gogh and Gear Up. The other contenders included Bolshoi Ballet ( Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial), Hurricane Lane ( Dante Stakes), Youth Sprit ( Chester Vase), Third Realm ( Lingfield Derby Trial), Lone Eagle (

Cocked Hat Stakes The Cocked Hat Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 44 yards (2,253 metr ...

), High Definistion (

Beresford Stakes The Beresford Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

), One Ruler ( Autumn Stakes), John Leeper (

Fairway Stakes The Fairway Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket i ...

) and Mohaafeth (

Newmarket Stakes The Newmarket Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) on t ...

). There were ten entries from Ireland (six trained by Aidan O'Brien), nine from the United Kingdom (three trained by Charlie Appleby and none from

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. The prospective field included five of the top six colts rated in the 8f+ category of the official classification of European two-year-olds for 2020, namely Mac Swiney, High Definition, Van Gogh, One Ruler and Gear Up. On Wednesday 2 June Aidan O'Brien announced that Bolshoi Ballet would probably be his only runner in the race and that his five other entries, including the second favourite High Definition, would be directed to alternative targets. As O'Brien suggested High Definition, Kyprios, Sir Lamorak, The Mediterranean and Van Gogh were withdrawn from the race on 3 June. The other absentees from the final field of 12 were Lone Eagle and Seattle Sound. On the day of the race Mohaafeth was announced as a non-runner on account of the unsuitable ground conditions.

Race card

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - !No !Draw !Horse !Weight ( st– lb) !Jockey ! Trainer !Owner , - , 1 , 1 , Adayar , 9–0 , Adam Kirby , Charlie Appleby , Godolphin , - , 2 , 9 ,

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

, 9–0 , Ryan Moore , Aidan O'Brien (IRE) ,

Tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galilee ...

, Smith, Magnier , - , 3 , 6 , Gear Up , 9–0 , Ben Curtis , Mark Johnston , Teme Valley , - , 4 , 5 , Hurricane Lane , 9–0 , William Buick , Charlie Appleby , Godolphin , - , 5 , 12 , John Leeper , 9–0 , Frankie Dettori , Ed Dunlop , Anamoine Ltd , - , 6 , 8 ,

, 9–0 , Kevin Manning , Jim Bolger (IRE) , Jackie Bolger , - , ''7'' , ''4'' , ''Mohaafeth'' , ''9–0'' , ''

Jim Crowley James Harold "Sleepy Jim" Crowley (September 10, 1902 – January 15, 1986) was an American football player and coach. He gained fame as one-fourth of the University of Notre Dame's legendary "Four Horsemen (American football), Four Horsemen" bac ...

'' , '' William Haggas'' , ''

Shadwell Estate Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan estab ...

'' , - , 8 , 10 , Mojo Star , 9–0 , David Egan ,

Richard Hannon Jr. Richard Michael Hannon Jr. (born 21 November 1975) is a British racehorse trainer. He is the son of, and former assistant to, four time British flat racing Champion Trainer Richard Hannon Sr. He operates from the 160 capacity Herridge Racing Stab ...

, Amo Racing Ltd , - , 9 , 11 , One Ruler , 9–0 ,

James Doyle James Doyle may refer to: The arts * James Francis Doyle (1840–1913), British architect * James S. Doyle (born 1935), American journalist * James William Edmund Doyle (1822–1892), English illustrator and antiquary * Jimmy Doyle (musician) (194 ...

, Charlie Appleby , Godolphin , - , 10 , 3 , Southern Lights , 9–0 ,

Declan McDonogh Declan McDonogh (born 21 January 1980) in County Meath is an Irish jockey who competes in Flat racing. McDonogh rode his first winner at Leopardstown Racecourse in June 1995 and has worked for trainers Kevin Prendergast, John Oxx and Joseph O' ...

, Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) , Aquis Racing & Al Mamoura Partnership , - , 11 , 2 , Third Realm , 9–0 , Andrea Atzeni ,

Roger Varian Roger Varian is a British Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, based at Carlburg Stables in Newmarket, Suffolk. Riding career Varian moved to the United States as a teenager and found employment as a work rider at Hollywood Park. On his return to t ...

, Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum , - , 12 , 7 , Youth Spirit , 9–0 ,

Tom Marquand Tom Marquand (born 30 March 1998) is a British jockey who competes in flat racing. Background Marquand spent his childhood near Cheltenham and, although not from a racing background, grew up around horses. After pony racing and riding out f ...

, Andrew Balding , Ahmad Al Shaikh Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Full result

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:#7d7; text-align:center;" , style="width:35px;", , style="width:45px;", Dist * , style="width:160px;", Horse , style="width:160px;", Jockey , style="width:200px;", Trainer , style="width:80px;", SP , - , 1 , , Adayar , Adam Kirby , Charlie Appleby , 16/1 , - , 2 , 4½ , Mojo Star , David Egan ,

, 50/1 , - , 3 , 3¼ , Hurricane Lane , William Buick , Charlie Appleby , 6/1 , - , 4 , 3¼ ,

, Kevin Manning , Jim Bolger (IRE) , 8/1 , - , 5 , nk , Third Realm , Andrea Atzeni ,

, 14/1 , - , 6 , 3 , One Ruler ,

, Charlie Appleby , 17/2 , - , 7 , 2¾ ,

, Ryan Moore , Aidan O'Brien (IRE) , 11/8 fav , - , 8 , 2 , Youth Spirit ,

, Andrew Balding , 25/1 , - , 9 , 1¼ , John Leeper , Frankie Dettori , Ed Dunlop , 8/1 , - , 10 , ¾ , Gear Up , Ben Curtis , Mark Johnston , 50/1 , - , 11 , 21 , Southern Lights ,

, Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) , 33/1 Winning time: 2 min 36.85 sec * The distances between the horses are shown in

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

or shorter; nse = nose; hd = head.
† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Form analysis

Two-year-old races

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2020

* Gear Up – ''1st in Acomb Stakes, 1st in

Criterium de Saint-Cloud A criterium, or crit, is a bike race consisting of several laps around a closed circuit, the length of each lap or circuit ranging from about 400 m to 10,000 m. Overview Race length can be determined by a number of laps or total time, ...

'' * Mac Swiney – ''1st in

Vertem Futurity Trophy The Vertem Futurity Trophy is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), ...

, 1st in Futurity Stakes'' * One Ruler – ''1st in Autumn Stakes, 2nd in

, 3rd in

Flying Scotsman Stakes The Flying Scotsman Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged two years old. It is run at Doncaster Racecourse over a distance of 7 furlongs and 6 yards (1,408 metres), and ...

'' * Youth Spirit – ''3rd in Vintage Stakes''

Road to Epsom

Early-season appearances in 2021 and trial races prior to running in the Derby:

* Adayar – ''2nd in Sandown Classic Trial, 2nd in Lingfield Derby Trial'' * Bolshoi Ballet – ''1st in

Ballysax Stakes The Ballysax Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopardstow ...

, 1st in Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial'' * Hurricane Lane – ''1st in Dante Stakes'' * John Leeper – ''1st in

'' * Mohaafeth – ''1st in

'' * Mac Swiney – ''1st in Irish 2000 Guineas'' * Third Realm – ''1st in Lingfield Derby Trial'' * Youth Spirit – ''1st in Chester Vase''

Subsequent Group 1 wins

Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby:

* Adayar - '' King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2021)'' * Bolshoi Ballet – ''

Belmont Derby The Caesars Belmont Derby is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred race horse run over a distance of miles on the turf at Belmont Park in July. The purse for the event is US$1,000,000. The event is the first of three of ...

(2021),

Sword Dancer Stakes The Sword Dancer Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses, aged three and up, run annually in mid August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A prep for the Breeders' Cup Turf, it is set at a distance of one and one-half ...

(2023)'' * Hurricane Lane – ''

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

(2021), Grand Prix de Paris (2021), St Leger Stakes (2021)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epsom Derby 2021 in horse racing 2021 in English sport 2021 2021 Epsom Derby June 2021 sports events in the United Kingdom