Magnier equals Piggott's record with ninth Epsom Classic

The victory of Wings Of Eagles means that John Magnier has equalled Lester Piggott's record of nine wins in the Derby in any category - jockey, trainer, owner or breeder.

Piggott set the record as a jockey by triumphing on Never Say Die, Crepello, St Paddy, Sir Ivor, Nijinsky, Roberto, Empery, The Minstrel and Teenoso between 1954 and 1983.

John Magnier's name does not appear at all on the official Derby roll of honour. However, that does not reflect the reality of his success as an owner because he has now won the race nine times as the driving force behind the Robert Sangster and Coolmore partnerships.

Magnier was still young when he provided much of the expertise behind the syndicate whose horses were trained by his father-in-law Vincent O'Brien and usually ran in the name of football-pools heir Robert Sangster. They included Derby winners The Minstrel (1977, ridden by Piggott) and Golden Fleece (1982).

That syndicate dominated European racing for nearly a decade, and he has achieved even greater success this century with the Coolmore partnership that he controls.

He has won seven more Derbys since 2001 with horses who carried the colours of his wife Sue Magnier (Galileo, Pour Moi, Ruler Of The World), Michael Tabor (High Chaparral) and Derrick Smith (Camelot, Australia, Wings Of Eagles).

Wings Of Eagles wins the DerbyCredit: Mark Cranham

Tabor and Mrs Magnier were joint-owners of all those seven winners; before Saturday they were already the holders of the official owners' record for the most Derby victories. They have shared their last five winners with Smith, and the three of them shared Australia with Teo Ah Khing.

John Magnier was also co-breeder of two of his nine Derby winners via Orpendale (Galileo) and Southern Bloodstock (Ruler Of The World), both of which are branches of the Coolmore operation.

Eight of his Derby winners have been trained at Ballydoyle, the exception being the Andre Fabre-trained Pour Moi, sire of Wings Of Eagles.

This was Aidan O'Brien's sixth Derby winner – all for the Coolmore partnership – which puts him just behind the trainers' record of seven held by Robert Robson, John Porter and Fred Darling.