From a tough axing to a great victory for Sandown star Crowley

So well was the odds-on favourite travelling under Pat Eddery two and a half furlongs out in the 1984 Derby, ITV commentator Graham Goode shouted out with some disbelief: "Look at El Gran Senor. He's absolutely cruising!"

Rarely since then has a horse travelled so strongly into the closing stages of a major race as Ulysses. This time the jockey was Jim Crowley. This time the outcome was different.

El Gran Senor ended up being edged out by Secreto in one of the closest and most thrilling of all Derby finishes. There can similarly have been few more pulsating conclusions to a Coral-Eclipse than this one, with Ulysses and Barney Roy flashing past the post as one, their virtual inseparability leading to a lengthy wait for a judge's verdict that went the way of a horse and rider who have blossomed with age.

Crowley is not a man known for spontaneous shows of delight. The manner in which the sport's reigning champion jockey punched the air in jubilation on hearing the words, "first number four", said plenty. This victory meant a great deal. It was easy to understand why.

Ulysses (noseband) sticks his neck out to prevail by the narrowest of margins over Barney RoyCredit: Hugh Routledge

Since taking the riders' crown much has changed for a former jump jockey who enjoyed one of his biggest successes in that sphere when booting home Ungaro in a long-distance Sandown handicap hurdle 11 years ago. Landing the title, and the manner in which he did it, earned him fresh respect, a higher standing and a lucrative job with Hamdan Al Maktoum.

It also helped him to a Classic partnership with his Craven Stakes winner Eminent, who on June's first Saturday notched a close-up fourth in the Derby. The frustration felt there by owner Sir Peter Vela and trainer Martyn Meade resulted in Crowley being jocked off Eminent at the start of this week.

It is often funny how things turn out.

"Things happen in life for a reason," said Crowley in the Sandown winner's enclosure. "You have to respect their decision but I don't think I did too much wrong. It's worked out in my favour today."

Fortunately for Crowley there was another option. Evidence of the esteem in which he is now held came when Sir Michael Stoute, denied first choice Ryan Moore and second choice Andrea Atzeni, booked him for Ulysses in the Prince of Wales's Stakes. On that occasion the new pairing took third. The renewal of their union yielded the biggest victory of their careers.

"This is massive," said Crowley. "When you become champion jockey this is the sort of race you should be winning and want to be winning. All credit to Sir Michael Stoute and the owners for giving me a go on him. He was a spare ride at Ascot and I got on him only quite late there. To get the opportunity today after how things have worked out is fantastic.

Jim Crowley kisses the Coral-Eclipse trophyCredit: Mark Cranham

"When it's a tight photo like that it can go either way. Luckily it went our way. It was a great feeling when they called it out. If I'd won the race without a photo-finish I probably wouldn't have punched the air, but any jockey will tell you that sort of situation is tough."

It may also have been tough earlier on the card watching the Sheikh Hamdan-owned Battaash romp home in the Group 3 sprint, given Crowley had selected the owner's fourth-placed Muthmir. Yet if the Shadwell supremo had hung around at Sandown he will have been reminded why he wanted Crowley as his main man.

"My job doesn't put me under pressure," Crowley insisted. "They're very good. If the horses are good enough they'll win. The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself to ride big winners. It's great to be able to do it today."

Stoute also felt it was great. The master trainer never delivers two sentences where one will suffice, but he offered three when asked about the 38-year-old sporting the famous Niarchos silks.

Ulysses, Jim Crowley and the winning connections celebrate at SandownCredit: Mark Cranham

"Today I thought he was very good – but they usually are when they win," said Stoute. "The breaks Jim has had are justifiable. We've put him up on a few good horses recently and he's a thorough professional."

Also a thorough pro was Lester Piggott. Had he not lost his job with Vincent O'Brien and Coolmore he would have been on El Gran Senor in the 1984 Derby. Walking past his former employers at Epsom in their early moments of dejection, he muttered: "Miss me?"

Crowley is far too decent and polite to have contemplated saying the same to the connections of Eminent, who pulled hard early under the seriously in-form Silvestre de Sousa before trying to take a bite out of Decorated Knight.

Even so, no race will have tasted as sweet to the champion jockey as this one.

Coral-Eclipse result