By MIKE DILLON
It looked easy for Hades. Vinny Colgan swears it wasn't.
At least not in his mind.
Two years ago Colgan rode Zonda so confidently to win the Derby you would have thought he was the only horse in the race.
Yesterday Colgan was worried the whole way.
For almost all the home straight Hades looked the winner. Colgan saw it differently.
"On the home turn I was worried because Buzz Lightyear still looked to be travelling well. He didn't look to be under any pressure at all.
"Then, when we got to the front I saw this horse on the outside of my shoulder and I thought: "I'm in trouble. I didn't dare look."
If Colgan had looked he would have been even more worried. The horse on his outside was the only other Zabeel in the Derby, Hill Of Grace, a filly who has a heart-breaking finish.
"Then I though we must be getting to the finish and I looked up and saw the winning post was still 100m away."
Hades might lack size, but they might like to weight his heart one day. As hard as Hill Of Grace tried, Hades kept answering Colgan's calls and for the last 80m there was no change in the margin between the pair.
"If I looked excited going over the line, I was. I was so pleased to finally get there. It was tougher than it looked."
The measure of any success in racing, particularly in a Derby, is gauged by the number of excuses from the opposition.
There was none yesterday.
Hill Of Grace, like the winner with a scant three-race career behind her, was gallant. Idol was similarly game in finishing third after being hampered by a wide barrier and roughie Ebony Honor did well to head the rest.
Opie Bosson was making no excuses for the hot favourite Buzz Lightyear, who faded to 10th after taking the lead when pacemaker Sun God gave it away at the 800m and who still looked a strong chance when in front at the 400m.
The fast pace in the middle stages did him no favours.
"He relaxed okay and felt good in running," said Bosson. "He was really travelling when he went past Sun God and he was going fine on the home turn, but when he stopped he really stopped.
"Probably up to 2000m is going to be his distance from here."
Leith Innes on second favourite Ad Alta was similarly confident for much of the race before finishing fifth.
"At the 600m she was travelling as well as anything in the race.
"Lance O'Sullivan [on Idol] looked to be under pressure, Buzz Lightyear and Opie got left in front and I thought it was Christmas all over again.
"She really came into the race, but suddenly she felt the pinch and she was gone. Halfway down she could well have run last, but she fought bravely and it was a good effort. The fact that it was a pressure race didn't help, but overall she's been up a while."
Trainer Roger James had only one line for Colgan as he legged him up: "Be going forward from the 600m and don't get his momentum checked from there on."
James stopped only just short of saying this was the best of his three Derbys - four if you count the one he won with Jim Gibbs and Tidal Light.
"Every one of them is special but this horse came from virtual obscurity, although that's a funny thing to say about a horse by Zabeel.
"The other thing is, he ran four seconds faster than Zonda won the Derby in, and that's significant.
"I've always thought good horses win Derbys and go on to prove just how good they are."
Racing: Worried Vinny gives Derby opponents a hell of a time
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