As the Classics kick off with the Betfred 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday there is a new incentive should the winner go on to tackle the Derby and St Leger
Aidan O’Brien has been tipped as the trainer most likely to complete one of racing’s rarest feats – winning the British Triple Crown.
The Triple Crown comprises the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger and has only been won 15 times in over 250 years. The last horse to capture all three races was the legendary Nijinsky, trained by Vincent O’Brien and ridden by Lester Piggott in 1970. Only one horse has come close to emulating him since when Camelot, trained by Aidan O’Brien and ridden by son Joseph, lined up at Doncaster as a 2-5 favourite for the St Leger having already won the 2,000 Guineas and Derby.
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However he was to be beaten by three quarters of a length by Godolphin’s Encke, trained by the subsequently disgraced Mahmood Al Zarooni.
A field of 11 horses are set to line up in Saturday’s Betfred 2,000 Guineas for which the John & Thady Gosden-trained Field Of Dream is favourite, from Godolphin’s Ruling Court and O’Brien’s Expanded.
As an added incentive to the winner, bookmaker Betfred, which this year sponsors all five British Classics for the first time, are offering a £2 million bonus if a horse can land the Triple Crown.
Betfred boss Fred Done, speaking to BetfredTV, said: “We’ve put a £2 million bonus up for any horse that manages to win the Triple Crown and I tell you, it would be massive for Betfred and racing.
“I want to work with racing, we love racing and we sponsor British racing. Nobody’s done the classics like we’ve done it and I’m so proud to be there. I’m lost for words.”
He continued, “We’ve spoken to people in racing, from all the racecourses, and everybody loves it. I hope everybody gets behind it and I hope somebody goes for it. I hope we’ve got another Nijinsky in there somewhere in those fields today.”
Of Aidan O’Brien he said, “I think he’s the best in the world. The man is so dedicated to his racing and I’ve met him and his two sons and they’re a racing family. If anybody could do it, Aidan O’Brien can do it.”
