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The Irish News Archive: June 29 1998: Asmussen cashes in with Derby win at the Curragh

DREAM FULFILLED.... French favourite Dream Well, ridden by Cash Asmussen, en route to an easy victory in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh yesterday
DREAM FULFILLED.... French favourite Dream Well, ridden by Cash Asmussen, en route to an easy victory in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh yesterday DREAM FULFILLED.... French favourite Dream Well, ridden by Cash Asmussen, en route to an easy victory in the Budweiser Irish Derby at the Curragh yesterday

Jockey Cash Asmussen came back in triumph at the Curragh yesterday when he drove the French derby winner Dream Well to a four and a half length triumph in the Budweiser Irish Derby.

On rain-softened ground the son of Sadlers Wells took up the running two furlongs out and was an easy winner from Epsom Derby runner-up City Honours ridden by Frankie Dettori with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Desert Fox a length away third the best of the Irish runners.

In a slowly-run 2 mins 44.3 secs Derby the ground proved all important and Cash at the press conference afterwards poured himself a bottle of Budweiser and said: “This is the second best thing I have seen today.”

Winning trainer Pascal Barry said the horse will have a short rest and be trained for the Arc. He will have a pre-Arc race in the first week of September.

WATERFORD welterweight Neil Gough captured gold for Ireland at Liverpool’s top multi-nations event at the weekend. But there was disappointment for Dublin teenager Aodh Carlyle who was three points adrift at the end of his bid for golden glory. Gough, 29, recorded his fourth victory in the tournament on Saturday night’s final programme.

The St Paul’s clubman, six-time Ireland’s senior champion, had dealt successfully with opposition from Australia, Kenya and Ukraine before taking the top award. Germany’s Alexander Sipos posed problems in the opening exchanges but Gough gradually settled down and took the honours with a 9-4 computer verdict.

Carlyle, from the Sacred Heart ABC, lost out in the final to Aidyn Casanois (Russia).

But he will have gained considerably from the experience of his first major international challenge said Irish official pat McCrory.

“Young Carlyle boxed very well to take silver in his first big international competition,” said Ulster president McCrory, who was in Liverpool as tournament technical delegate.

SAM Torrance, one of the oldest players on the European tour, captured one of its oldest titles in Paris yesterday. And, not for the first time, it reduced him to tears.

The 44-year-old Scot birdied the final two holes to win the Peugeot French Open, first played for in 1906, by two shots.

It was his 21st victory and it came 33 months after his 20th.

No wonder he hugged his caddie Malcolm Mason, threw his cap into the crowd and was soon having to wipe his eyes – just like he did when he won the Ryder Cup at The Belfry in 1985 and just like he has on many other winning occasions.

Ahead of this week’s Irish Open at Druid’s Glen Irish golfers Phillip Walton and Paul McGinley both finished with good rounds of 67 and with Walton finishing up five shots off the pace at seven under and McGinley a further stroke behind. But the day belonged to the veteran Scot.

IRAN’S World Cup squad, 2-1 winners over the United States in the most politically-charged match of the first round of the France' 98 World Cup returned to an enthusiastic welcome from thousands of supporters yesterday.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 Iranians waited several hours at Tehran airport to greet the players, coaches and team officials, and shower them with flowers on their return from France after their first-round exit.

Airport officials designated a reception room usually reserved for Muslim pilgrims for the team so they could meet their mostly young fans who had come to celebrate their June 21 win over the United States.

Coach Jalel Talebi and the players were separated from the fans screaming “Iran, Iran” by a wire fence.

They told Iranian reporters they were grateful that they could “make the people happy with their victory” over the United States.