# 2009 Epsom Derby

The 2009 Epsom Derby was a horse race which took place at Epsom Downs on Saturday 6 June 2009. It was the 230th running of the Derby, and it was won by Sea the Stars. The winner was ridden by Michael Kinane and trained by John Oxx. The pre-race favourite Fame and Glory finished second.

## Race details

* Sponsor: Investec
* Winner's prize money: £709,625
* Going: Good
* Number of runners: 12
* Winner's time: 2m 36.74s

## Full result

| | * | Horse | Jockey | Trainer $^†$ | SP |
| 1 | | Sea the Stars | Michael Kinane | John Oxx (IRE) | 11/4 |
| 2 | 1¾ | Fame and Glory | Seamie Heffernan | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 9/4 fav |
| 3 | nk | Masterofthehorse | Richard Hughes | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 16/1 |
| 4 | nse | Rip Van Winkle | Johnny Murtagh | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 6/1 |
| 5 | shd | Golden Sword | Colm O'Donoghue | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 25/1 |
| 6 | 6 | Crowded House | Jamie Spencer | Brian Meehan | 20/1 |
| 7 | ½ | Age of Aquarius | Pat Smullen | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 25/1 |
| 8 | nk | Debussy | Jimmy Fortune | John Gosden | 33/1 |
| 9 | 4½ | Kite Wood | Frankie Dettori | Saeed bin Suroor | 28/1 |
| 10 | hd | Black Bear Island | Ryan Moore | Aidan O'Brien (IRE) | 7/1 |
| 11 | 5 | Gan Amhras | Kevin Manning | Jim Bolger (IRE) | 8/1 |
| 12 | 11 | Montaff | Richard Hills | Mick Channon | 40/1 |
* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter – nse = nose; shd = short-head; hd = head; nk = neck † Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated

## Winner's details

Further details of the winner, Sea the Stars:
* Foaled: 6 April 2006 in Ireland
* Sire: Cape Cross; Dam: Urban Sea (Miswaki)
* Owner: Christopher Tsui
* Breeder: Sunderland Holdings Ltd
* Rating in 2009 World Thoroughbred Rankings: 136

## Form analysis
### Two-year-old races

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2008.
* Sea the Stars – 1st Beresford Stakes
* Fame and Glory – 1st Critérium de Saint-Cloud
* Masterofthehorse – 3rd Beresford Stakes, 11th Racing Post Trophy
* Rip Van Winkle – 1st Tyros Stakes, 7th Dewhurst Stakes
* Crowded House – 2nd Tattersalls Million, 1st Racing Post Trophy
* Age of Aquarius – 4th Critérium de Saint-Cloud
* Kite Wood – 1st Autumn Stakes
* Gan Amhras – 2nd Goffs (C & G) Million

### The road to Epsom

Early-season appearances in 2009 and trial races prior to running in the Derby.
* Sea the Stars – 1st 2,000 Guineas
* Fame and Glory – 1st Ballysax Stakes, 1st Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial
* Masterofthehorse – 2nd Chester Vase
* Rip Van Winkle – 4th 2,000 Guineas
* Golden Sword – 4th Prix Noailles, 1st Chester Vase
* Crowded House – 8th Dante Stakes
* Age of Aquarius – 1st Lingfield Derby Trial
* Debussy – 1st Blue Riband Trial Stakes, 3rd Chester Vase
* Kite Wood – 5th Dante Stakes
* Black Bear Island – 3rd Prix La Force, 1st Dante Stakes
* Gan Amhras – 3rd 2,000 Guineas
* Montaff – 2nd Lingfield Derby Trial

### Subsequent Group 1 wins

Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby.
* Sea the Stars – Eclipse Stakes (2009), International Stakes (2009), Irish Champion Stakes (2009), Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2009)
* Fame and Glory – Irish Derby (2009), Tattersalls Gold Cup (2010), Coronation Cup (2010), Ascot Gold Cup (2011)
* Rip Van Winkle – Sussex Stakes (2009), Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (2009), International Stakes (2010)
* Debussy – Arlington Million (2010)

## Subsequent breeding careers

Leading progeny of participants in the 2009 Epsom Derby.

### Sires of Classic winners

Sea The Stars (1st) Sire of fourteen individual Group/Grade One winners including six classic winners as of August 2020
* Taghrooda - 1st Epsom Oaks (2014)
* Sea The Moon - 1st Deutsches Derby (2014)
* Harzand - 1st Epsom Derby, 1st Irish Derby (2016)
* Sea Of Class - 1st Irish Oaks (2018)
* Star Catcher - 1st Irish Oaks (2019)
* Stradivarius - Champion Stayer (2018, 2019)

### Sires of Group/Grade One winners

Rip Van Winkle (4th) - Later exported to New Zealand
* Dick Whittington - 1st Phoenix Stakes (2014)
* Te Akau Shark - 1st Chipping Norton Stakes (2020)
* Jennifer Eccles - 1st New Zealand Oaks (2020)
* Winston C - 1st New York Turf Writers Cup (2019)

### Sires of National Hunt horses

Fame And Glory (2nd)
* Gardons Le Sourire - 1st Prix Ferdinand Dufaure (2020), 1st Prix Jean Stern (2020)
* Commander Of Fleet - 2nd Spa Novices' Hurdle (2019)
* Embittered - 3rd County Handicap Hurdle (2020)

### Other Stallions

Masterofthehorse (3rd) - Flat and jumps winners Golden Sword (5th) - Exported to South Africa Crowded House (6th) - Exported to Australia