Sinndar - Racing Career - 2000: Three-year-old Season - Summer

Summer

Sinndar's next race was the Derby, although until just before the race, the possibility of firm ground at Epsom had led Oxx to consider running the colt in the Prix du Jockey Club- the French Derby instead. Despite the late withdrawal of the 2,000 Guineas winner King's Best, the field for the 2000 Derby was a strong one, and Sinndar was fourth in the betting behind Sakhee, Beat Hollow and the Ballydoyle-trained Racing Post Trophy winner Aristotle, with Best of the Bests, representing Godolphin also well supported. Oxx was confident of a prominent showing, saying, "Our fellow will run well and I'll be disappointed if he doesn't run a cracking race and be involved in the finish".

In the race, Sinndar ran close behind the leaders, and as the runners entered the straight he was fourth, behind Best of the Bests, Sakhee and the Henry Cecil-trained Wellbeing. A quarter mile from the finish, Richard Hills sent Sakhee to the front and went into a clear lead, but he was then challenged by Murtagh and Sinndar. The two colts raced together for a few strides, but inside the final furlong Sinndar pulled ahead to win by a length. It was five lengths back to Beat Hollow in third and another four back to Best of the Bests in fourth.

The Irish Derby featured an anticipated meeting between Sinndar and the English-trained Holding Court, who had won the Prix du Jockey Club- the French Derby- by six lengths on soft ground. Timeform rated the colts only one pound apart. The ground at the Curragh was also soft (officially "yielding"), but Sinndar was preferred in the betting at 11/10, with Holding Court 9/4. Sinndar was moved into the lead in the last quarter mile and pulled steadily away from the field to win by nine lengths, despite being eased down by Johnny Murtagh near the finish, in what was described as "one of the great Classic performances". Holding Court finished sixth. The win also earned Sinndar's owners a bonus of $1,000,000 from the race's sponsors for winning both the English and Irish Derbies. Oxx revealed that winning the race fulfilled an ambition that had begun thirty-eight years earlier, when he had watched Arctic Storm, trained by his father, narrowly defeated in the 1962 running of the race.