dam Kirby’s uplifting triumph on Adayar, after he was dumped from his original partner in favour of Frankie Dettori, was one of the best and most memorable Derby stories of recent years. Whether the race itself will come to be seen in similar terms, or even as an above-average renewal of our most famous Classic, remains uncertain, to say the least. Few could argue that Adayar was the best horse on the day by some way, a point he underlined by attacking the final climb to the winning post with genuine relish. The previously unbeaten Dante winner, Hurricane Lane, was back in third after looking a little uneasy on the track and losing both his front shoes. And if the sight of Mojo Star, a twice-raced maiden, finishing second raised a few questions about the form, Richard Hannon’s colt deserves at least a chance or two to show that his run was no fluke. But there is only one Derby, and Bolshoi Ballet’s failure to show anything close to his form in the Derrinstown at Leopardstown last month was a disappointing flipside to Kirby’s jubilation. The subsequent discovery that the 11-8 favourite had been struck into at an early stage is a plausible explanation for his defeat, but leaves an obvious question mark over the ultimate value of the form. In previous years the favourite would have been sent into the race with some backup from the Coolmore-Ballydoyle operation – to offer some insurance against just such a mishap and also on the off-chance that a less-heralded son of Galileo would improve dramatically for a step up to a mile-and-a-half. Instead they relied solely on Bolshoi Ballet to get the job done, an abandonment of the “run everything with a glimmer” policy of recent seasons that had a significant impact on the race. The most obvious beneficiary was Kirby, who was booted off John Leeper only when High Definition – the winter favourite for the Derby – was surprisingly ruled out three days before the race and Dettori was suddenly available. But this was also a Derby that looked, and felt, quite different without the usual turnout from Aidan O’Brien’s stable. Few Classics in Britain and Ireland these days unfold without at least one, and frequently two, Ballydoyle runners controlling the pace, and it made a refreshing change to see different colours leading the turn for home. At the same time, though, the sight of 11 runners – the smallest field for nine years – heading around Tattenham Corner was a reminder that most Derbys over the past 20 years would have had similarly reduced contingents without Coolmore’s involvement. Time may show that Bolshoi Ballet was unfortunate on Saturday, but even if he thrashes Adayar in the Irish Derby – and there is no certainty hat either colt will run at the Curragh – his only chance to win the original (and best) version has gone. His defeat proved to be the only significant setback for O’Brien over the weekend, however, as the trainer’s failure to win a ninth Derby on Saturday was followed by a first success in the French equivalent at Chantilly on Sunday. St Mark’s Basilica, last year’s Dewhurst winner, recorded a comfortable one-and-three-quarter length success, leaving O’Brien two-for-three in the weekend’s Classics after Snowfall’s dominant victory in the Oaks on Friday. The reasoning behind “the lads” decision to send only Bolshoi Ballet to Epsom is anyone’s guess. Perhaps they simply reckoned him to be borderline unbeatable. But it’s also possible they no longer see multiple entries as so desirable. Instead they – and their rivals at Godolphin – may now want to focus on just the one horse, the “right” kind of Derby winner, with speed as his strong suit and just enough stamina to last home. For one more year at least, the search goes on.