Wings of Eagles (horse)

Wings of Eagles
Racing silks of Derrick Smith
Sire	Pour Moi
Grandsire	Montjeu
Dam	Ysoldina
Damsire	Kendor
Sex	Colt
Foaled	17 March 2014
Country	France
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Mme Aliette Forien & Mr Gilles Forien
Owner	Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier
Trainer	Aidan O'Brien
Record	7: 2-1-1
Earnings	£1,075,441
Major wins
Epsom Derby (2017)

Wings of Eagles (foaled 17 March 2014) is a French-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He is best known for his victory in the 2017 Epsom Derby at odds of 40-1, having never previously won a stakes race. He sustained a career-ending injury when finishing third in the Irish Derby on his only subsequent appearance.

Wings of Eagles is a dark-coated bay colt with a large white star bred in France by Aliette and Gilles Forien. He is from the second crop of the Irish-bred stallion Pour Moi, who won the 2011 Epsom Derby as well as the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe the same year. Pour Moi entered stud at Coolmore Stud in Ireland in 2012 and shuttled intermittently to Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand. For the 2017 breeding season, he was moved to Grange Stud as a Coolmore National Hunt stallion. Pour Moi's other notable runners include Australian Group 1 winner Sacred Elixir and Irish Group 3 winner Only Mine.

Wings of Eagles' dam Ysoldina only won one of her 11 races but finished third in the 2005 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. As of 2017, she has five named foals, four of whom have won. With his Epsom Derby win, Wings of Eagles became his dam's first stakes winner.

As a yearling, Wings of Eagles was sold for 220,000 euros to MV Magnier at the Arqana August Yearling Sale. The colt was sent into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. Like many Coolmore horses, the official details of his ownership have changed from race to race: he has sometimes been listed as being the property of Derrick Smith, while on other occasions he has been described as being owned by a partnership of Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier.

Wings of Eagles began his racing career in a maiden race over seven furlongs at Galway Races on 29 July in which he was ridden by Seamie Heffernan and started at odds of 7/1 in an eleven-runner field. He showed some reluctance to enter the starting stalls and made no impact in the race, finishing seventh behind the Dermot Weld-trained Lost in Silence. Three weeks later the colt was partnered by Emmet McNamara for a similar event at Killarney Racecourse and started the 5/2 second choice in the betting behind the John Oxx-trained Birds of Prey. After racing in third place Wings of Eagles went to the front a furlong out and won by one and a quarter lengths from the favourite despite showing signs of inexperience (running "green"). Wings of Eagles was then sent to England for the Listed Zetland Stakes over ten furlongs on 10 October at Newmarket Racecourse. Ridden by Ryan Moore he started at odds of 10/1 and finished fourth behind the filly Coronet. On his final appearance of the season the colt was sent to France and stepped up to Group 1 class for the Criterium de Saint-Cloud on 30 October. He never looked likely to win and finished ninth of the thirteen runners, seven lengths behind the winner Waldgeist.