Top Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has left sports bettors scratching their heads after leaving five horses in the 2025 Epsom Derby on June 7.
The Lion In Winter, Delacroix, Lambourn, Puppet Master and Shackleton are O’Brien’s quintet of contenders for the Group 1 event next month.
Like the unpredictability of bingo, determining which horse has the best chance of winning the race for O’Brien is tricky.
In some respects, identifying which ball will be next out of the chute may be easier than making a definitive call on O’Brien’s runners.
O’Brien has won the race on ten previous occasions, including the last two editions with Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy.
They both ran poorly in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket before returning to form with a vengeance in the Derby.
The Lion In Winter finished sixth in the Dante Stakes at York on his seasonal reappearance, sparking a significant shake-up in the betting market.
The horse drifted out to 6/1 for the big race, but has subsequently been backed in to 5/2 following some positive comments from O’Brien.
He indicated before Dante that the horse would improve for the run and believed he would be in perfect shape to show his proper form in the Derby.
“We always thought what happened at York with The Lion In Winter could happen, but he needed to run if he was going to go to the Derby,” O’Brien said.
“We were very happy with the run. He jumped, he was fresh and things didn’t work. He would have probably been a good third but he got stopped halfway down the straight.
“If he hadn’t jumped into the bridle and wanted to tear off early, that would have been another couple of lengths.”
While the script over the past two years is a useful indicator of The Lion in Winter’s chances, it would be foolish to underestimate stablemate Delacroix.
He landed the Leopardstown Derby Trial last time and had subsequent Chester and Lingfield winners Lambourn and Puppet Master behind him in the Ballysax Stakes at the same course.
The three-year-old son of Dubawi has never been out of the first two in seven career starts, and his greater experience could be crucial at Epsom.
Charlie Appleby’s Ruling Court could be the biggest threat to O’Brien’s hopes of winning the Derby for a record-extending 11th time.
The 2000 Guineas winner is stepping up to twelve furlongs for the first time, but Appleby feels he is classy enough to handle the extra distance.
Appleby previously won the race with Masar (2018) and Adayar (2021) and is eager to add another Derby success to his career CV.
Epsom Derby 2025 Entries
- Al Wasl Storm – Owen Burrows
- Damysus – John & Thady Gosden
- Delacroix – Aidan O’Brien
- Green Storm – Charlie Johnston
- Lambourn – Aidan O’Brien
- Lazy Griff – Charlie Johnston
- Luther – Charlie Fellowes
- Nightime Dancer – Richard Hannon
- Nightwalker – John & Thady Gosden
- Opportunity – William Haggas
- Pride of Arras – Ralph Beckett
- Puppet Master – Aidan O’Brien
- Purview – DK Weld
- Rogue Impact – James Owen
- Rogue Millions – James Owen
- Ruling Court – Charlie Appleby
- Sea Scout – Simon & Ed Crisford
- Shackleton – Aidan O’Brien
- Stanhope Gardens – Ralph Beckett
- Tennessee Stud – Joseph Patrick O’Brien
- The Lion In Winter – Aidan O’Brien
- Too Soon – Gary & Josh Moore
- Tornado Alert – Saeed bin Suroor
- Tuscan Hills – Raphael Freire
- Wimbledon Hawkeye – James Owen
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