2020 Epsom Derby

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The 2020 Epsom Derby was the 241st annual running of the Derby horse race and took place at Epsom Downs Racecourse on 4 July 2020. The race was sponsored by Investec. It was originally scheduled to take place at on 6 June 2020, but was postponed until later in the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually rescheduled to take place on 4 July 2020.

The winner was the Coolmore Stud's chestnut colt Serpentine, ridden by Emmet McNamara and trained at Ballydoyle in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien, who saddled a record eighth Derby winner. McNamara was riding in the Derby for the first time and registered his first win in any race since October 2019.

Race synopsis Entries and race build-up The initial entry for the 2020 Epsom Derby, announced in December 2018, consisted of 356 yearlings whose owners paid for each horse entered. The number of entries was an increase of 18 on the initial entry for the 2019 race, and included 12 horses from the Godolphin organisation and 75 from the Coolmore Stud. Khalid Abdullah entered 16 horses and five-time winning owner Aga Khan IV had 19 entries. Queen Elizabeth II entered 5 horses for the race.

Two wild card entries were planned, one for winning the Investec Derby "Wild Card" Conditions Race in September 2019 and the other for winning the 2020 Blue Riband Trial Stakes. Grand Rock, trained by William Haggas won the September 2019 race to claim the first wild card entry. The 2020 running of the Blue Riband Trial Stakes was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom

The COVID outbreak lead to the Derby being postponed to 4 July 2020, although the course and distance remained unchanged. The restrictions imposed owing to the pandemic meant that many of the traditional trial races for the Derby were either cancelled or rearranged. For example, the Dante Stakes, usually a major trial, was postponed to July and run after the Derby, whereas the King Edward VII Stakes which is usually run after the Derby became a trial race for the Epsom classic. A further consideration for the rescheduled meeting was the need to run the race without spectators ("behind closed doors"). The course can be accessed by a number of public footpaths and bridleways and in order to hold the meeting behind closed doors at Epsom the local council had to approve an application for public access to be restricted. The original entries for the race were cancelled on 8 April 2020 with entry fees being refunded. The race attracted a total of seventeen entries when it was reopened on 28 June 2020. Of these seventeen, sixteen were declared on 2 July 2020, with the exception being the Aidan O'Brien-trained Armory.

Race card NoDrawHorseWeight (st–lb)JockeyTrainerOwner 1 5 Amhran Na Bhfiann 9–0 William Buick Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier 2 4 Emissary 9–0 Jim Crowley Hugo Palmer Khalid Abdulla 3 1 English King 9–0 Frankie Dettori Ed Walker Bjorn Nielsen 4 16 Gold Maze 9–0 David Egan Jessica Harrington (IRE) Long Wait Partnership 5 13 Highland Chief 9–0 Ben Curtis Paul & Oliver Cole Fitri Hay 6 11 Kameko 9–0 Oisin Murphy Andrew Balding Qatar Racing 7 14 Khalifa Sat 9–0 Tom Marquand Andrew Balding Ahmad Al Shaikh 8 7 Max Vega 9–0 Harry Bentley Ralph Beckett Pickford Hill Partnership 9 2 Mogul 9–0 Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier 10 15 Mohican Heights 9–0 Andrea Atzeni David Simcock Sun Bloodstock 11 10 Mythical 9–0 James Doyle Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier 12 3 Pyledriver 9–0 Martin Dwyer William Muir K & W Bloodstock & R W Devlin 13 6 Russian Emperor 9–0 Seamie Heffernan Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Laurie Macri, Mrs Magnier et al. 14 12 Serpentine 9–0 Emmet McNamara Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier 15 8 Vatican City 9–0 Padraig Beggy Aidan O'Brien (IRE) Tabor, Smith, Magnier 16 9 Worthily 9–0 Martin Harley John Gosden George W. Strawbridge Jr. Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Full result Dist * Horse Jockey Trainer SP1 Serpentine Emmet McNamara Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 25/12 5½ Khalifa Sat Tom Marquand Andrew Balding 50/13 ½ Amhran Na Bhfiann William Buick Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 66/14 nse Kameko Oisin Murphy Andrew Balding 5/2 fav5 nk English King Frankie Dettori Ed Walker 100/306 ¾ Mogul Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 7/17 1¼ Russian Emperor Seamie Heffernan Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 6/18 ½ Vatican City Padraig Beggy Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 17/29 2¼ Gold Maze David Egan Jessica Harrington (IRE) 150/110 2¾ Highland Chief Ben Curtis Paul & Oliver Cole 20/111 ½ Pyledriver Martin Dwyer William Muir 16/112 ½ Mohican Heights Andrea Atzeni David Simcock 25/113 ½ Mythical James Doyle Aidan O'Brien (IRE) 100/114 nk Max Vega Harry Bentley Ralph Beckett 33/115 2¼ Emissary Jim Crowley Hugo Palmer 40/116 75 Worthily Martin Harley John Gosden 40/1 Winning time: 2 min 34.43 sec

* The distances between the horses are shown in lengths or shorter; nse = nose; hd = head.† Trainers are based in Great Britain unless indicated.

Form analysis Two-year-old races Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2019 Gold Maze – 2nd in Beresford Stakes Highland Chief – 3rd in Chesham Stakes Kameko – 1st in Vertem Futurity Trophy, 2nd in Royal Lodge Stakes, 2nd in Solario Stakes Max Vega – 1st in Zetland Stakes Mogul – 1st in Juvenile Stakes Mohican Heights – 1st in Stonehenge Stakes Mythical – 3rd in Critérium de Saint-Cloud Pyledriver – 1st in Ascendant Stakes

Road to Epsom Early-season appearances in 2020 and trial races prior to running in the Derby: Emissary – 2nd in Cocked Hat Stakes English King – 1st in Lingfield Derby Trial Gold Maze – 2nd in Gallinule Stakes Kameko – 1st in 2000 Guineas Khalifa Sat – 1st in Cocked Hat Stakes Mohican Heights – 3rd in King Edward VII Stakes Pyledriver – 1st in King Edward VII Stakes, 2nd in Sandown Classic Trial Russian Emperor – 1st in Hampton Court Stakes, 2nd in Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial Vatican City – 2nd in Irish 2000 Guineas

Subsequent Group 1 wins Group 1 / Grade I victories after running in the Derby: Mogul – Grand Prix de Paris (2020), Hong Kong Vase (2020) Pyledriver – Coronation Cup (2021), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2022) Russian Emperor – Hong Kong Gold Cup (2022), Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup (2022, 2023), H.H. The Amir Trophy (2023)

2020 Epsom Derby

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