The 43rd running of the Irish Derby was held on Wednesday 24th June 1908 over 1 mile 4 furlongs of The Curragh. Subscriptions were 15 sovereigns with a pot of 1000 sovereigns, 150 sovereigns to the second and 50 sovereigns to the third. The winner was owned by Sir Ernest C Cochrane, trained and bred by James Dunne in Ireland and ridden by Peter Hughes. The winner won by a length in 2 minutes 45 seconds, with 3/4 length between second and third.

IRISH DERBY 1908

WILD BOUQUET (Chestnut colt by Wildfowler out of Bunch of Roses) SR 1786

The winning owner won 783 sovereigns, (The equivalent of £89,500 in today's terms based on Bank of England inflation calculator).
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Pos. Horse Weight Jockey Owner Trainer
1 WILD BOUQUET 7.13 Peter Hughes Sir Ernest C Cochrane James Dunne
2 CARLOWITZ 8.12 Walter Bray Mr William Cooper George Blackwell
3 THE CONVERT 8.12 John Thompson Mr Abel Buckley jnr Philip Behan
4 ARRANMORE 9.5 William Bullock Mr Frederick F McCabe Frederick McCabe
5 TWENTY-THIRD 9.5 Clyde Aylin Sir William J Goulding Michael Dawson
6 SWEET LESTER 8.12 Edward Charters Mr James Rooney James Parkinson
7 ROSE CROSS 8.6 Fred Hunter Sir Ernest C Cochrane James Dunne
8 THE TOWER 7.13 John Doyle Mr J R O'Connor John Dwyer
  Betting

OWNER PROFILE
Ernest Cecil Cochrane, son of Sir Henry Cochrane and Margaret Cocharne (nee Gilchrist) was born on 12th September 1873. He attained the rank of Captain in the 3rd Battalion of Connaught Rangers before becoming a barrister who was admitted to the Inner Temple in 1904. His passion was horse racing and the pinnacle of his racing life was reached when he won the 1908 Irish Derby with Wild Bouquet who benefitted from a low weight to defeat Carlowitz in receipt of 13 lbs. He married 4 times and died on 6th March 1952 aged 78.
Evens fav Twenty-Third
6/1 Wild Bouquet
6/1 The Convert
7/1 Carlowitz
7/1 The Tower
8/1 Arranmore
20/1 Rose Cross
20/1 Sweet Lester
  Over round 123%
FORMLINE:- The winner received 13 lbs from the second and 20 lbs from the favourite, scrambling home by a length.

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses
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