Eagles legacy likely to be fleeting but Beggy's redemption will endure

The longest-priced of 20 Irish-trained winners of the Investec Derby at 40-1, Wings Of Eagles came from nowhere to soar quite majestically at Epsom.

In a general sense and in the race itself, he blindsided pretty much everyone to become the longest-priced Derby victor since 50-1 Snow Knight in 1974.

It would be unfair to suggest he will now return to obscurity, but in the overall scheme of things his impact will likely be of the fleeting variety.

Sadly, injury has deprived him of a fair chance to validate his legacy and it is highly likely he went through the pain barrier in finishing third to Capri in the Irish Derby at the Curragh on Saturday.

As such, his performance can arguably be upgraded and that bit of tenacity is an invaluable trait breeders cherish when it comes to evaluating sires.

From a commercial perspective, given that Epsom runner-up Cliffs Of Moher was batting for Coolmore's marquee sire Galileo, the Derby outcome was hardly ideal for the stud.

Wings Of Eagles' sire Pour Moi, who had secured Epsom glory in almost identical fashion in 2011, gradually fell down the pecking order on the elite roster. In a four-year span, his covering fee halved from €20,000 to €10,000 until he suffered the ultimate ignominy of being demoted to the jumps division at Grange Stud.

In all probability, provided his surgery goes to plan, a similar fate awaits Wings Of Eagles.

Inevitably, the most enduring strand to his narrative will be the manner in which the Epsom coup thrust Padraig Beggy into the limelight. Such is Aidan O'Brien's incredible record in the race that it takes something special to elevate one of his Derby wins to fairytale levels of intrigue.

Padraig Beggy and Aidan O'Brien celebrate Derby victoryCredit: Warren Little

However, that is exactly what Beggy's contribution triggered. A valued work-rider at Ballydoyle but a bit-part player in terms of track opportunities, the 31-year-old lives on the scraps of those who live on the scraps.

At Epsom, though, he showed exactly what he is capable of, displaying tremendous composure en route to a famous success.

Given that he had spent 15 months sidelined after being suspended following a positive test for cocaine in Australia, it also lent a real human-interest angle to proceedings.

Despite that joyous Derby triumph, Beggy's lot has since returned to pretty meagre pickings. A jockey's lot isn't easy, but, regardless of how ephemeral his Epsom glory proves to be, Beggy's redemption will endure. He is a Derby-winning rider and no-one can take that away from him.