June is a stellar month for horse racing fans, with the schedule on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean packed with top-class meetings.
The Epsom Derby and Belmont Stakes triggered a ton of activity on betting sites this weekend, serving as a tasty aperitif for Royal Ascot in the middle of the month.
The Derby also proved a major betting event, generating significant interest among punters looking to maximise value on one of the biggest races of the season. Betting comparison websites such as BestBettingBonuses.co.uk experienced a surge in traffic as customers searched for the latest bookmaker promotions, including popular deals such as the BetVictor offer.
With a highly competitive field and plenty of market movement throughout the day, Christmas Day’s victory rewarded bettors who secured generous pre-race odds.
Christmas comes early at Epsom
Christmas Day claimed an impressive victory in the Epsom Derby on Saturday, securing a 12th win in the race for trainer Aidan O’Brien.
The Ballydoyle handler saddled four runners in his pursuit of the 50th British Classic of his career, and the well-backed 7/1 shot got the job done under jockey Ronan Whelan.
The son of 2012 Derby winner Camelot stayed on strongly in the home straight to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths ahead of Maltese Cross and James J Braddock.
O’Brien, who has now won the last four editions of the Derby, was hugely impressed with the way Christmas Day put his rivals to the sword.
“He’s always been a very good-looking horse, but an unassuming, uncomplicated one,” O’Brien said.
“It isn’t always the obvious horse, I suppose that’s what makes it exciting, and Ronan gave him a great ride. He was always in the right position.
“We felt that the horse was better than he had shown in the Dante and he has form on soft ground, but he stays and he’s hard.”
Golden Tempo adds Belmont win to Kentucky success
Golden Tempo completed a second victory in the United States Triple Crown series after recording a one-an-a-quarter length win in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux became the first woman to train the winner of the Kentucky Derby last month and is now the first female to win two Triple Crown races.
Connections decided to swerve the Preakness Stakes due to the tight timeframes involved and that move was vindicated by the 6/1 shot.
“I do think we made the right decision,” she said. “I don’t think we would have the same horse if we had run back in two weeks. It’s a horse-by-horse, case-by-case decision.
“And for him, with as much growth as we’ve seen in him, it would have been hard for him to follow that up in two weeks, and subsequently three weeks.
“I think there were doubts about him because Renegade ran so well and he had trouble. So, there were thoughts that Renegade could have won the Derby, but they have been put to bed.”
O’Brien is the man to follow at Royal Ascot
With the Epsom Derby and Belmont Stakes now done and dusted, punters will switch their attention to the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting.
The United Kingdom’s biggest flat racing meeting of the year is staged over five days, features eight Group races and has more than £10 million prize money up for grabs.
O’Brien has trained a record-breaking 96 winners at Royal Ascot, and looks a good bet to complete the century this time around.
He has won 18 races in the last five years at a 16.5 percent strike rate, six more than Charlie Appleby and ten ahead of John and Thady Gosden.
Intriguingly, jockey William Buick’s tally of 16 winners in the last five years is two more than O’Brien’s retained rider Ryan Moore.
Trends tend to stack up at Royal Ascot, with form lines from previous big races often influencing the outcome of the Group 1 contests.
For instance, four of the last five winners of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket have subsequently won the St James’s Palace at Ascot.
That statistic bodes well for Bow Echo, who claimed an eye-catching two-and-three-quarter length victory over Gstaad at Newmarket.
Gstaad franked that form by securing an easy victory in Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh, and he will be the main threat to Bow Echo at the royal meeting.
The Gold Cup on day three is historically the highlight of the week. O’Brien’s Scandinavia is the 5/4 favourite to win the race and will be tough to beat.
He warmed up for the race with a narrow victory in a Group 3 contest at Leopardstown last month and O’Brien believes he will improve at Ascot.
“I’m delighted,” O’Brien told Racing TV. “He’s one of those big Gold Cup horses, he relaxes, he cruises, and he’s happy to wait and finds plenty.
“Ryan gave him a lovely ride and he just ended up getting there a little bit earlier than he wanted.
“This is the perfect race to bridge the gap to Royal Ascot and his training will get more serious as we go along. He had a lovely run in Navan and this was a lovely run too.”
Yeats, Order Of St George and Kyprios all won the same race at Leopardstown before winning the Gold Cup, which bodes well for Scandinavia’s chances.