2004 Epsom Derby

Winner's racing colours

The 2004 Epsom Derby was a horse race that took place at Epsom Downs on Saturday June 5, 2004. It was the 225th running of the Derby, won by the pre-race joint favourite North Light. The winner was ridden by Kieren Fallon and trained by Sir Michael Stoute. The other joint favourite Snow Ridge finished seventh.

Race details

• Sponsor: Vodafone
• Winner's prize money: £788,220
• Going: Good
• Number of runners: 14
• Winner's time: 2m 33.72s

Full result

	*	Horse	Jockey	Trainer †	SP
1		North Light	Kieren Fallon	Sir Michael Stoute	7/2 jf
2	1½	Rule of Law	Kerrin McEvoy	Saeed bin Suroor	20/1
3	hd	Let the Lion Roar	Michael Kinane	John Dunlop	14/1
4	hd	Percussionist	Kevin Darley	John Gosden	7/1
5	3	Salford City	Johnny Murtagh	David Elsworth	8/1
6	1½	American Post	Richard Hughes	Criquette Head-Maarek (FR)	13/2
7	1¾	Snow Ridge	Frankie Dettori	Saeed bin Suroor	7/2 jf
8	hd	Hazyview	Eddie Ahern	Neville Callaghan	40/1
9	1½	Pukka	Darryll Holland	Luca Cumani	10/1
10	2½	Gatwick	Richard Quinn	Mick Channon	16/1
11	nk	Massif Centrale	Dane O'Neill	David Elsworth	100/1
12	19	Coming Again	Michael Hills	Barry Hills	80/1
13	1¼	Elshadi	Martin Dwyer	Marcus Tregoning	25/1
14	7	Meath	Jamie Spencer	Aidan O'Brien (IRE)	16/1

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

Winner's details

Further details of the winner, North Light:

• Foaled: March 1, 2001 in Ireland
• Sire: Danehill; Dam: Sought Out (Rainbow Quest)
• Owner: Ballymacoll Stud
• Breeder: Ballymacoll Stud Farm Ltd
• Rating in 2004 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings: 122

Form analysis

Two-year-old races

Notable runs by the future Derby participants as two-year-olds in 2003.

• Rule of Law – 1st Acomb Stakes, 3rd Royal Lodge Stakes
• Let the Lion Roar – 2nd Haynes, Hanson and Clark Stakes
• American Post – 1st Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère, 1st Racing Post Trophy
• Snow Ridge – 1st Royal Lodge Stakes, 9th Dewhurst Stakes
• Elshadi – 1st Haynes, Hanson and Clark Stakes, 4th Autumn Stakes

The road to Epsom

Early-season appearances in 2004 and trial races prior to running in the Derby.

• North Light – 1st Dante Stakes
• Rule of Law – 2nd Dante Stakes
• Let the Lion Roar – 3rd Dante Stakes
• Percussionist – 1st Lingfield Derby Trial
• Salford City – 1st Greenham Stakes, 6th 2,000 Guineas
• American Post – 1st Prix Omnium II, 1st Prix de Fontainebleau, 1st Poule d'Essai des Poulains
• Snow Ridge – 2nd 2,000 Guineas
• Hazyview – 1st Newmarket Stakes, 2nd Lingfield Derby Trial, 1st Fairway Stakes
• Gatwick – 1st Haydock Silver Bowl
• Meath – 2nd Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes, 2nd Amethyst Stakes, 1st Gallinule Stakes

Subsequent Group 1 wins

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

• Rule of Law – St. Leger (2004)

References

• racingpost.com
• sportinglife.com