BetUK Blog

The horse that wasn’t going to run, ended up winning the Epsom Derby. New Approach, the top 2-year-old last year, was not thought to be an entrant in the big race. His trainer, Jim Bolger, had consistently been saying that his horse would run in the Irish Derby instead.

But that changed when Bolger decided that New Approach should indeed contest UK racing’s Blue Riband event. The 3-year-old went off at 5/1 (he was available at more than 250/1 two weeks ago), the second-favourite, and won the race, worth over £800,000 in prize money, by a half-length. That’s a pretty good return for misleading the market in the way Bolger did.

The second favorite, behind Big Brown, Casino Drive was scratched from the Belmont Stakes on Saturday morning, mere hours before the colt was going to be the one serious contender to spoil Big Brown’s Triple Crown chase.

The scratch is due to a bruised left hind hoof.

Although the injury has been termed as “minor”, the trainer and owners are being cautious, as this race can be very demanding (1½-miles).

The race goes off Saturday at approximately 6:30 PM EST.

Punters have been piling into New Approach for Saturday’s Epsom Derby following Monday’s shock news that Jim Bolger’s colt will actually run. Last year’s champion two-year-old was favourite for the mile-and-a-half contest over the winter but when Bolger stated in April that Epsom would not be the colt’s destination, a number of firms took him out of the betting. Since then he has been placed in both the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas and bookies reintroduced the son of Galileo (who won the Derby himself) into the market as a 6/1 chance. He has now been backed in to 5/1. Punters can do without these shenanigans. If the financial markets were mislead in the same way there would be people on their way to jail right now!