Attention turns to the Triple Crown for Derby winner Camelot
Published:After becoming only the third horse in 24 years to complete a 2,000 Guineas and Derby double, Camelot is an overwhelming 1/3 favourite to contest and win the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster in September.
By doing so, the colt would achieve British flat racing’s ultimate accolade, the Triple Crown, a feat which was last secured by the legendary Nijinsky in 1970. It’s a prospect that has understandably got the Coolmore stable pretty excited.
Camelot stakeholder John Magnier said: “Wouldn’t anybody want to win the Triple Crown? We are all so old now that these things get to mean more as you get older. If you asked me 30 years ago, I’d have looked the other way.”
The jockey charged with delivering the most improbable of hat-tricks will almost certainly Joseph O’Brien, son of trainer Aidan, who oversaw the victories at Newmarket and Epsom.
The 19-year-old defied all the question marks regarding the limitations imposed by his six-foot frame with another assured ride to ensure that they became the first father and son duo in history to train and saddle the Derby champion.
He said: “I was pretty confident most of the way. It was the first time for him on this type of track and only his fourth run ever. He just wanted to see where he was putting his feet.
“I saw Astrology had gone for home and coming in the race, I thought he was going to be one of the ones to beat. I wasn’t sure if he was going to come back or not, but my horse quickened up very well.”
That’s quite an understatement, given that when called to charge in the final furlong, Camelot appeared to be travelling at a completely different pace to his rivals.
Given that the two horses strode clear of on Saturday, Main Sequence and Astrology, are considered his two main St Leger adversaries at 10/1, it is no surprise that he is such a strong frontrunner at 1/3.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
