Hurricane Lane denied Lone Eagle in the final stages in a thrilling finale as British raiders dominated the Irish Derby at the Curragh. Frankie Dettori looked to have stolen the Classic on Martyn Meade’s Lone Eagle, shooting three lengths clear of a melee in behind with two furlongs to run. Hurricane Lane looked to be right in trouble, but once straightened out by William Buick he made up ground relentlessly, eventually prevailing by a neck. Winner of the Dante Stakes at York, Hurricane Lane had met with his first defeat at Epsom behind stablemate Adayar. His trainer, Charlie Appleby, had made no secret of the fact he expected Hurricane Lane to come out on top there. A stewards’ inquiry was launched here but victory was swiftly concerned, with the leading pair seven lengths clear of Wordsworth in third. The big disappointment of the race was the favourite, Aidan O’Brien’s High Definition, who was one of the first horses beaten. “Fantastic – this means the world to me,” said Buick afterwards. “I must give credit to Charlie and the team at Moulton Paddocks at home. This horse has done nothing but improve, and he improved since Epsom. We all know that’s not an easy thing to do.” “I thought halfway through the race that we’d given up our position behind Frankie a little bit, and I thought he’d get first run. My horse quickened up really well and showed a lot of quality out there today. Once I switched him out wide, he managed to get some clear running room and he took off.” “He’s a very, very good horse. We obviously fancied him at Epsom and today he’s improved again,” Buick added. “This horse is a slow learner, a bit like myself, but we’ll get there in the end!” Appleby felt Hurricane Lane had made significant strides after Epsom but will take his time in mapping out his next target, with Adayar set to run at July’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. “We have no immediate plans. I’d say we will sit tight until the King George and see what unfolds there,” he said. The trainer added that Hurricane Lane “gained experience” in defeat at Epsom. “It was noticeable after Epsom how he’d grown up, his work was sharper. I thought that Frankie had stolen a march [today] and he’d hard to peg back, but I knew our horse would keep galloping to the line.”