Punters are betting on Aidan O’Brien’s horse for Derby despite Guinea’s flop

City of Troy are cutting the odds for the Derby despite his flop in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket last weekend.

Aidan O’Brien’s runner went from 4/6 favorite for the opening classic of the season after an unbeaten two-year campaign.

But Justify’s son did not respond to Ryan Moore’s urging and eventually weakened quickly, finishing ninth of the eleven runners.

O’Brien had hoped City of Troy would be a contender to win England’s Triple Crown – the Guineas, Derby and St Leger – but the colt’s poor performance in the Guineas saw him drift to 6/1 for the Epsom Derby.

However, punters appear to be in a forgiving mood as City of Troy have since slumped to 9/2 to bounce back with a win at Epsom.

Lee Phelps of William Hills said: “While City Of Troy’s defeat in the Qipco 2000 Guineas was a shock, it appears punters are in a forgiving mood as we have seen significant support for Ballydoyle’s charge in the Derby. We pushed him to 6/1 straight after Newmarket, but that’s all gone now as he’s been recalled to 9/2.

“Last year Aidan O’Brien transformed Auguste Rodin from Guinea failure to Derby hero, and it seems people are backing the Ballydoyle master to do it again after positive noises from the garden this week.

“Arabian Crown remains the 7/2 favourite, but we will be looking out for the big yards’ representatives in the Chester and Lingfield tests this week, where Classic winners have shown their potential in recent years.”

O’Brien has suggested his star colt was upset in the boxes in the immediate aftermath of the Guineas and has wondered about having the three-year-old on the concert field for his seasonal return.

He said: “Maybe I left him too fresh because he went into the stables and stood up and when he hit the ground they let him go straight away.

“What would normally happen if they got up like that, their heart rate would go up, but they would usually get a second if they let them go back before they left. But he went in, got upset and ‘scared’, straight back out.

“His heart was probably very high, which usually happens, those horses usually get into the red zone much faster than they should. So he was probably in the red zone before the half, so I’d say that’s what happened. But because I left him too fresh, I probably went too easy on him and left him too fresh.”

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