'It was very unfortunate' - Derby dream turns sour as Voyage unseats Pat Dobbs leaving the stalls

Julie Wood's Derby dream proved short-lived as Voyage unseated his rider Pat Dobbs a few strides into the Betfred-sponsored Classic.

The owner had been fulfilling a lifetime ambition when the colt carried her colours at Epsom.

But her 28-1 shot, who was drawn on the outside of the field in stall 16 of 16, appeared to stumble on leaving the gate and parted company with his jockey, galloping on riderless.

Dobbs told ITV: "He stumbled coming out, then he stumbled two strides after that and pulled me over his head. It was very unfortunate."

When the stewards looked into the incident, they found that no other horse or rider was involved and it was caused by the colt stumbling badly, resulting in Dobbs becoming unbalanced and being unseated.

Voyage, who is trained by Richard Hannon, had won his only previous start, a maiden at Newbury in April.

The unfortunate Pat Dobbs exits stage left after Voyage stumbled coming out of the stallsCredit: Racing TV

He was bidding to emulate Morston in 1973 and Lammtarra in 1995 by winning the Derby on only his second appearance.

Wood is better known for more speedily bred horses, such as Group 2 winners Olympic Glory, Strong Suit and Zebedee, but bought Voyage specifically because his pedigree encouraged the hope he could be a horse for the Derby over a mile and a half.

In the build-up to Saturday's race, she said: "I've been waiting for years to get one good enough to line up and this is it."

Voyage was only a fourth Derby runner for Hannon, who had Mojo Star finish second in the race in 2021.

The trainer gave the colt a spin around Epsom at the press morning last month and said subsequently: "It's everyone's dream to have a runner in the best race in the world and it's for the right person."

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