Latrobe caps tremendous spell for Camelot with Irish Derby victory

Coolmore Stud's Camelot followed in the footsteps of his great sire Montjeu by providing a major Classic winner in his first crop, courtesy of Latrobe's thrilling victory in Saturday's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

Montjeu's first batch of three-year-olds included an Irish Derby winner in Hurricane Run, as well as Derby winner Motivator and St Leger winner Scorpion.

Camelot himself won the Irish Derby, one of three Classics he won during a brilliant summer in 2012, and so it was fitting that Latrobe should win the race and provide the sophomore stallion with another tremendous boost.

Fitting too was the fact that Latrobe, owned by the powerful Australian Lloyd Williams, is trained by Joseph O'Brien, who was in the saddle aboard Camelot six years ago.

The colt's win, in which he denied Frankel's Rostropovich by a comfortable half a length, with Deep Impact's 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior another neck away in third, continued a fine spell for Camelot in recent weeks.

Hunting Horn, another member of his debut crop conceived in 2014 at a €25,000 fee, was a brilliant winner of the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot, while two-year-old Arthur Kitt won the same meeting's Chesham Stakes.

His first Group 1 winner, Latrobe is one of a total of eight stakes winner for Camelot, who stood for €30,000 in 2018, down from 2017's high of €35,000.

Latrobe is also the second Curragh Classic winner out of a Shamardal mare, in this case Question Times, following on from the 2016 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Awtaad, by Cape Cross.

He is a half-brother to the Group 3 winner Diamond Fields and was a 65,000gns purchase from Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale by Joseph O'Brien himself, having been bred by Sweetmans Bloodstock and offered by Lynn Lodge Stud.

Prior to that, he had been an €88,000 purchase by Margaret O'Toole at the Goffs November Foal Sale.

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