Best Five Epsom Derby Winners of This Century

With Flat racing's blue riband event fast approaching, we've decided to list our best five Epsom Derby winners of this century.

Many legends of the sport have been successful since this Classic was first staged in 1780, with the likes of Sea Bird , Nijinsky , Mill Reef and Shergar gracing the roll of honour.

However, we're restricting our top picks to renewals from 2000 onwards, and here they are ranked in reverse order:

Epsom Winners Ranked

Epsom Winners Ranked

High Chaparral

5. HIGH CHAPARRAL (2002)

Market leader Hawk Wing moved well under Mick Kinane , but Johnny Murtagh made a pivotal move when driving his stablemate through on the outside to set after catching the front-runners, whom he soon surged past.

There was a moment when Hawk Wing drew ominously alongside, but strong stayer High Chaparral still had plenty in reserve and responded bravely to win by two lengths, with future Dubai World Cup victor Moon Ballad fully 12 lengths back in third.

High Chaparral , hailed as "very tough, genuine and very talented" by connections, added an Irish Derby victory, two Breeders' Cup Turf triumphs and an Irish Champion Stakes success to his stellar CV.

City Of Troy

4. CITY OF TROY (2024)

After being a champion two-year-old, the son of American Triple Crown hero Justify went to Epsom under a cloud following a 2000 Guineas flop, but Aidan O'Brien was convinced his charge was back to his best, and the Ballydoyle maestro was proved right.

City Of Troy was towards the back early on and still had plenty of ground to make up turning for home, but Ryan Moore didn't panic, and his mount made relentless progress to storm between horses and score by two and three-quarters lengths.

"He's a very special horse and a very important horse," commented Moore, who was again in the saddle for subsequent Eclipse and Juddmonte International triumphs.

Golden Horn

3. GOLDEN HORN (2015)

Having been supplemented for Epsom at a cost of £75,000 following a Dante victory at York , John Gosden 's charge was given a patient ride by Frankie Dettori before ultimately powering home to beat stablemate and subsequent Irish Derby ace Jack Hobbs by three and a half lengths.

Wild celebrations were theG order of the day as the well-backed favourite crossed the line, with Dettori later declaring his mount simply "took off" once asked to quicken down the straight.

Golden Horn went on to prevail in the Eclipse and the Irish Champion Stakes before overcoming a bad draw in the Arc .

Galileo

2. GALILEO (2001)

O'Brien's colt was always travelling sweetly just in behind the leaders, and once Kinane came through to pounce at the two-furlong pole, he kicked clear and quickly opened up a commanding lead.

Despite being eased down late on, Galileo still finished three and a half lengths ahead of 2000 Guineas hero Golan , before going on to further Group One glory in the Irish equivalent and the King George .

As if that wasn't enough, the son of Sadler's Wells later became the greatest stallion of his generation, siring the mighty Frankel and a record five future Derby winners.

Sea The Stars

1. SEA THE STARS (2009)

John Oxx 's superstar was already a Classic winner after landing the 2000 Guineas and secured a typically smooth success at Epsom , lobbing along in fourth for much of the way until Kinane eased him to the front a furlong out.

Sea The Stars wasn't one to do much more than enough, but he comfortably held off high-class stayer Fame And Glory by a length and three-quarters, with Oxx stating: "I was never worried and could see he was going to win from a long way out. It was a very stress-free race."

An incredible sequence of six straight Group One triumphs that year ended with an impressive Arc victory, and this half-brother to Galileo has been another huge success at stud.

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