The 2008 Epsom Derby was a horse race which took place at Epsom Downs on Saturday 7 June 2008. It was the 229th running of the Derby, and it was won by New Approach. The winner was ridden by Kevin Manning and trained by Jim Bolger. The pre-race favourite Casual Conquest finished third.
New Approach is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active stallion. In a racing career which lasted from July 2007 to October 2008 he ran eleven times and won eight races. He was undefeated in five races as a two-year-old in 2007 including the National Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. As a three-year-old he won the Epsom Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Champion Stakes and was rated the best racehorse in the world in the 2008 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings. As a breeding stallion, New Approach has sired the classic winners Masar, Dawn Approach and Talent.
Conduit was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 2007 to November 2009 he won seven of his fifteen starts, including four at Group One/Grade I level.
Sea The Stars is a retired champion Irish Thoroughbred racehorse regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won the 2000 Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes – the first colt to accomplish this treble since 1989 champion Nashwan – the International Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the same year. Sea The Stars is also a successful sire. His progeny have won classic races including the Derby, Irish Derby, and the Oaks.
The 2009 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes was a horse race held at Ascot Racecourse on Saturday 25 July 2009. It was the 59th King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Ask was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Unraced as a two-year-old, he showed some promise as a three-year-old in 2006, winning one minor race and finishing fourth in the St Leger. He improved in the following year despite running only three races: he won the Ormonde Stakes and the Cumberland Lodge Stakes and was narrowly beaten in the Canadian International Stakes. He won the Gordon Richards Stakes in 2008 but reached his peak as a six-year-old in the following year, winning the Yorkshire Cup, Coronation Cup and Prix Royal Oak as well as finishing third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. After a single, unsuccessful start in 2010 his racing career was ended by injury. He was then retired to become a National Hunt stallion in Ireland.
Jack Hobbs is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only race as a juvenile, he established himself as a potentially top-class colt with a twelve length win in a race at Sandown on his three-year-old debut. He finished second to his stable companion Golden Horn in both the Dante Stakes and The Derby before winning the Irish Derby by five lengths. He ran twice more in 2015, winning the September Stakes before being beaten when favourite for the Champion Stakes. His 2016 season was badly disrupted by injury and he ran only twice, failing to complete his first start and being beaten on his eventual reappearance. However, he rebounded in 2017 by winning the Sheema Classic at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup Night.
Order of St George is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He is a specialist stayer whose wins include two Irish St. Legers and an Ascot Gold Cup.
Idaho is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. In four years on the track he raced in seven countries, namely Ireland, France, England, Canada, the United States, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. In 2016 he finished third in The Derby and second in the Irish Derby before winning the Great Voltigeur Stakes. He was the odds-on favourite for the St Leger Stakes but stumbled and unseated his rider. In the following year he ran poorly in the Coronation Cup but then won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and finished third in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. The highlight of his final season was a win in the Ormonde Stakes.
Septimus was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which was frequently interrupted by injury he won eight of his thirteen races between September 2005 and November 2008. He showed very promising form as a juvenile, winning the Beresford Stakes and finishing third when favourite the Racing Post Trophy and went on to win the Dante Stakes by eight lengths in an abbreviated three-year-old campaign. At four he won the Mooresbridge Stakes and was then stepped up in distance to take the Lonsdale Cup and the Doncaster Cup. In his final season he won the Curragh Cup and the Irish St. Leger, taking the latter event by thirteen lengths. He was rated the best horse in the world over extended distances in both 2007 and 2008. He was retired to stud but had fertility problems and died on 12 December 2010 after complications resulting from a gelding operation.
Ulysses is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a three-year-old he showed very good form, winning the Gordon Stakes and finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf. He was even better in 2017 when he took the Gordon Richards Stakes and went on to record Group 1 victories in the Eclipse Stakes and the International Stakes.
Casual Conquest was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only race as a two-year-old in 2007 he made a significant impact on his first appearance at three when he was an impressive winner of the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial. He finished when favourite for The Derby and ran second in the Irish Derby on his only other start of 2008. As a four-year-old he added wins in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and the Royal Whip Stakes but then sustained a serious leg injury in the Irish Champion Stakes. He was gelded at the end of that year and never raced again.
Capri is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 he won three of his five races including the Canford Cliffs Stakes and the Beresford Stakes as well as finishing third in the Critérium de Saint-Cloud. In the following year he was beaten in his first two races and finished sixth in The Derby before emerging as one of the best colts of his generation in Europe with wins in the Irish Derby and the St Leger. He won the Alleged Stakes on his four-year-old debut but failed to win in eleven subsequent starts and was retired from racing at the end of 2019.
Caravaggio is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old he was one of the best colts of his generation in Europe when he was unbeaten in four races including the Marble Hill Stakes, Coventry Stakes and Phoenix Stakes. In the following year he took his winning run to six with victories in the Lacken Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup but his only success in four subsequent starts came in the Flying Five. He was retired from racing at the end of 2017 having won seven of his ten starts. Aidan O'Brien described him as the fastest horse that he had ever trained.
Boswell was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed promise when winning his final start as a two-year-old and was considered a contender for the following year's classic races. In 1936 he was slow to find his best form and ran unplaced in both the 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby before recording an upset victory in the St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse in September. As a four-year-old he again upset the odds to take the Eclipse Stakes at 20/1 but failed to win again and was retired from racing at the end of the following year. He later stood as a breeding stallion in the United States, where he had some success as a sire of winners.
Kew Gardens is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed considerable promise as a juvenile in 2017 when he won two of his five races including the Zetland Stakes. In the following year he developed into a top class stayer, taking the Queen's Vase, Grand Prix de Paris and St Leger. As a four-year-old he added another major win as he took the British Champions Long Distance Cup as well as finishing second in the Coronation Cup and the Irish St. Leger.
Crystal Ocean is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. After finishing second on his only appearance as a juvenile he developed into a high-class middle-distance performer in the following year when he won the Gordon Stakes, finished second in the St Leger and was placed in both the Dante Stakes and the King Edward VII Stakes. He was even better in the following year when he took the Gordon Richards Stakes, Aston Park Stakes and Hardwicke Stakes before being narrowly beaten by his stablemate Poet's Word in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He later finished second to Enable in the September Stakes and to Cracksman in the Champion Stakes. In 2019 he won his first Group One race when taking the Prince of Wales's Stakes but was retired to stud in September 2019 after suffered a career-ending leg injury on the gallops.
Circus Maximus, is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a juvenile in 2018 when he won one minor race and ran well in both the Autumn Stakes and the Vertem Futurity Trophy. In the following year he showed top class form over a mile, winning the Dee Stakes, St James's Palace Stakes and Prix du Moulin as well as finishing second in the Sussex Stakes. As a four-year-old he won the Queen Anne Stakes and finished second in both the Sussex Stakes and the Breeders' Cup Mile.
Japan is a British-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After being sold as a yearling for 1.3 million guineas he was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien. As a two-year-old in 2018 he showed considerable promise, winning two of his three races including the Group 2 Beresford Stakes. In the following year he improved to become one of the best three-year-olds in Europe, finishing fourth in the Dante Stakes and third in the Epsom Derby before winning the King Edward VII Stakes, the Grand Prix de Paris and the International Stakes. He failed to win in five attempts as a four-year-old in 2020.
Serpentine is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his win in the 2020 Epsom Derby.
