I’d not be surprised if he actually meant a mile!

If Coolmore is running 3 then confidence is not good esp with no pacesetters; Delacroix may be the hare for the other 2 runners.

The Lion In Winter has the class and ability to beat Ruling Court again, assuming both horses have the same chance of staying 12f. Both trainers are adamant and fairly confident The Derby distance is within their compass.

On the other hand Delacroix may have the best Irish form, but he does not have the class, or the potential to beat Ruling Court, assuming both horses stay 12f just as well; Delacroix won The Ballysax over 10f with Lambourne finishing the best and 2.25l 3rd to Delacroix.

I think Moore could surprise AOB and opt for The Lion In Winter if the horse's fitness and progress since The Dante are assured; Lambourn could surprise Delacroix and overturn The Ballysax result.

Uncouth for me, and self-interest foremost.

Both Guineas winners winning The Oaks and Derby will make my Flat season. I know it's early, but it will. Something even Coolmore will find it extremely difficult to match.   

I'd like to see Mr Doone cough up £1m bonus post The Ledger for Ruling Court too.

No, I haven't. I'd like to see Appleby and Godolphin deliver a double whammy to the uncouth Coolmore clan. Indeed. Even better when the child snatcher is still persona non grata at British racecourses.

Is the lion are gonna.
Ronnie.

Apparently, out to 10/1. Doesn't it beg the question as to who supported him after the Dante disaster? That never looked right. At the time O'Brien raised no negatives then all of a sudden.... Big questions regarding O'Brien's contributions throughout this saga, particularly if he doesn't even turn up. I doubt he has ever got close to admitting what has gone wrong since the Acomb. Not that he probably cares two hoots. It always seemed likely that the bookmakers would cop the lot.

I think The Lion In Winter will be retired. I think a bulletin to say the horse has picked up an injury post work, and he'll not make The Derby. I do not think it will be a "he stepped on a stone" excuse.

Happy Retirement The Lion In Winter!

the greatest horse theyve ever had, but got an injury, you see it coming

Anyone remember this?

By Marcus Armytage from the Telegraph

However, if ever racing needed a gentle reminder that a genius walks among us then it was not just the victory of Circus Maximus in the St James’s Palace, an eighth win in the race for O’Brien, but the fact that the colt was in the race at all.

It is not unique for a horse to run in the Derby and then win the St James’s Palace, but the timing is tight, the Derby often exacts a heavy toll on a horse, and it is unconventional to drop back from a mile and a half to a mile in one hit.

And although O’Brien credited the colt’s owners for the 11th-hour decision to supplement the horse for the race minutes before the deadline, the idea was so far out of the box it can only have come from the trainer. “His point was that he was not far behind Phoenix of Spain as a two-year-old, stick a pair of blinkers on him [to make up the distance] and that just about sums it up,” said John Magnier, the Coolmore  supremo.

Missing the derby gives him time and that might be all that he needs. The SJP looks weak and I’ve doubts about Mattisse over the stiff mile.

His comments after York bore no resemblance to the actual performance. Then a few days later we had the ridiculous gamble. Far more chance of him winning nothing at all than popping up at Royal Ascot over a shorter trip. Right now you would have to be desperate to back him for anything.

Thank you for your opinions, I felt anyone backing him for Epsom only four days after the Dante was desperate.

They have no shame when there’s money to made. Only won a Group 3 as said to Impossible on the anti post he’s been talked up and up.
Maybe he’s earnt ‘em enough and you’ll be right. More talk, never seen again. Shame was a lovely looking horse, reminded me in his face of his sire.

What is there to explain ? They followed the exchange , as they always do.

I would say plenty to explain unless you are saying every other bookmaker takes no notice of the exchanges which seems hard to believe.

I believe in the old days the stables of some Derby runners would open their doors to the media. Now, even with a mega drifter of a shortie from the no 1 stable it has not initiated a "visit" from any media to establish the well-being of the shortie.

In the past this would be considered a courtesy or even a duty to horseracing and punters. Now, the latter is merely fodder for the sport and the stables/individuals involved. Money is the ultimate goal, not integrity.

Hands up if you backed the lion for Epsom?!

No one want to done heresy anything!

I'd The Lion In Winter as the culmination selection of many trebles and accas. The price contraction prior to The Dante made it a good opportunity to lay him. I think quite a few who missed out on Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy developed "fomo" and jumped-in blindly.

The hotpots of Coolmore eg Fairy Godmother, Bedtime Story, Lake Victoria, The Lion In Winter, Twain, Henri Matisse, Camille Pissarro all did not make The Guineas. It was a bonus year for bookies.