HE CAME INTO the race with a formidable reputation and Australia delivered with something to spare as the 11/8 favourite claimed the Derby by a length from the plucky Kingston Hill.
Prior to today’s race, Aidan O’Brien had described the son of Galileo and Ouija Board as the greatest Derby horse he has ever trained and, under the control of son Joseph, the three-year old proved too good for the unusually large field.
The win marks the first time in 235 runnings of the blue riband event that a trainer has won three years in a row following the success of Ruler of the World and Camelot in 2013 and 2012 respectively.
Australia never looked troubled in the hands of Joseph O’Brian as he stayed well back of the action until entering the home straight. However, he moved easily through the gears and looked set to claim a four or five length victory when passing Kingston Hill to take the lead.
However, Kingston Hill stayed on strongly to finish just a length back while 20/1 outsider Romsdal ran on well to claimed third.