Christmas Day stormed to victory on the Surrey Downs on Saturday, delivering a fourth consecutive Epsom Derby triumph for trainer Aidan O’Brien in front of a crowd of 28,500 that included the King and Queen.
The three-year-old colt, sired by Camelot, gave O’Brien his record-extending 12th win in the 247th running of the race – a distinction that places him squarely among the most dominant figures in the history of British flat racing. Jockey Ronan Whelan, for whom the victory was the biggest of his career, guided the horse home under testing conditions.
The weight of the Derby
The Epsom Derby is the most prestigious Group 1 contest in the British racing calendar, a race first run in 1780 on the undulating, rollercoaster circuit of Epsom Downs. Over nearly two and a half centuries it has become the ultimate benchmark for three-year-old thoroughbreds, demanding not only speed but stamina and agility to navigate the course’s steep inclines, changing cambers and sharp turns. A victory here – O’Brien’s 12th – cements a horse’s place in racing lore and, in this case, extends a training dynasty that has now claimed 50 British Classic wins. The winner’s owners, Coolmore, added another chapter to their own storied history with the trophy presented by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The significance of the race was underscored by the conditions on the day. Rain fell overnight and continued for much of Saturday, leaving the ground soft and forcing many racegoers to take shelter inside the grandstands. The wet and windy weather made for a gruelling test, but Christmas Day handled it with a performance that drew admiration from the stands.
Six arrested after brawl mars proceedings
Yet the atmosphere on course was not without incident. Police arrested six people on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and affray after a fight broke out inside the grandstand around 5:50pm, during the final race of the day. All six have been released on police conditional bail pending further investigation.
Footage that emerged after the event showed two men trading blows in front of a crowd of onlookers, with one man’s white shirt ripped off before he fell to the floor. The fighting lasted several minutes despite attempts by racecourse staff to intervene. One witness reported that another person involved in the altercation was taken away by ambulance.
A spokesperson for Epsom Racecourse said its security teams and on-site police responded quickly, adding that “such behaviour has no place at the racecourse”. The disturbance marred what was otherwise the course’s biggest two-day crowd since 2022, following initiatives to boost attendance.
The incident was not without precedent. In 2023, 31 protesters from the group Animal Rising were arrested in connection with planned criminal activity to disrupt the festival, including one who ran onto the track. The Jockey Club had obtained a High Court injunction to prevent such disruptions. In 2016, riot police were called to break up fights involving bottle-throwing racegoers, resulting in 11 arrests and facial injuries to one police officer.
Earlier in the day, the race had been deprived of its favourite when Benvenuto Cellini was declared a non-runner after a hind leg became caught on the running board at the start.
