The 1985 Epsom Derby (known as the Ever Ready Derby for sponsorship reasons) was the 206th annual running of the Derby horse race. It took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 5 June 1985.

1985 Epsom Derby
Derby
LocationEpsom Downs Racecourse
Date5 June 1985
Winning horseSlip Anchor
Starting price9/4 Fav
JockeySteve Cauthen
TrainerHenry Cecil
OwnerJohn Scott-Ellis, 9th Baron Howard de Walden
ConditionsGood
← 1984
1986 →
Epsom Derby 1985
1-2-3
Apricot Dark blue, light blue cross belts, striped sleeves, white cap Green, pink sash and cap, white sleeves
Slip Anchor Law Society Damister

The race was won by Lord Howard de Walden's Slip Anchor, at odds of 9/4 ridden by jockey Steve Cauthen and trained at Newmarket by Henry Cecil. The win was a first success in the race for owner, trainer and jockey. Cauthen became the first man to ride the winners of both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby.

Race details edit

  • Sponsor: Ever Ready
  • Winner's prize money: £204,160
  • Going: Good
  • Number of runners: 14
  • Winner's time: 2 minutes, 36.23 seconds

Full result edit

Dist * Horse Jockey Trainer SP
1 Slip Anchor Steve Cauthen Henry Cecil 9-4
2 7 Law Society Pat Eddery Vincent O'Brien (IRE) 5-1
3 6 Damister Yves Saint-Martin Jeremy Tree 16-1
4 sh hd Supreme Leader Philip Robinson Clive Brittain 10-1
5 4 Lanfranco Cash Asmussen Henry Cecil 14-1
6 7 Reach Richard Quinn Paul Cole 33-1
7 ¾ Theatrical Lester Piggott Dermot Weld (IRE) 10-1
8 nk Phardante Greville Starkey Guy Harwood 40-1
9 8 Royal Harmony Michael Hills Barry Hills 40-1
10 6 Snow Plant Gabriel Curran Kevin Prendergast (IRE) 100-1
11 4 Petoski Willie Carson Dick Hern 33-1
12 7 Seurat Éric Legrix Patrick-Louis Biancone (FR) 33-1
13 Shadeed Walter Swinburn Michael Stoute 7-2
14 Main Reason Philip Waldron Paul Cole 200-1

Winner details edit

Further details of the winner, Slip Anchor:

Form analysis edit

Two-year-old races edit

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 1984:[1]

The road to Epsom edit

Early-season appearances in 1985 and trial races prior to running in the Derby:[2]

Subsequent Group 1 wins edit

Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby.

Subsequent breeding careers edit

Leading progeny of participants in the 1985 Epsom Derby.[3][4][5]

Sires of Classic winners edit

Slip Anchor (1st)

Theatrical (7th)

Shadeed (13th)

Damister (3rd)

Sires of Group/Grade One winners edit

Law Society (2nd) – Damsire of five classic winners – Scorpion, Love Divine, Manhattan Cafe, Moonstone and Brametot

Lanfranco (5th)

  • Ligeiro – 1st Auckland Cup (1993)
  • Super Franky – 1st Munster National (2000)

Sires of National Hunt horses edit

Supreme Leader (4th)

Phardante (8th)

Other stallions edit

Petoski (11th) – Night Petticoat (1st Preis der Diana 1996 – dam of Next Desert and Next Gina), Mouseski (12 wins over jumps)
Reach (6th) – Minor flat and jumps winners – later exported to Japan
Seurat (12th) – Minor flat and jumps winners in France
Royal Harmony (9th) – Exported to Brazil

References edit

  1. ^ Timeform (1985). Racehorses of 1984. Timeform. ISBN 0-900599-40-5.
  2. ^ Timeform (1986). Racehorses of 1985. Timeform. ISBN 0-900599-42-1.
  3. ^ "Stammtafeln". Galopp Sieger. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Profiles Search". Racing Post. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Progeny Reports". Pedigree Query. Retrieved 15 April 2020.

External links edit