The Lion In Winter wins well under Ryan Moore

The Lion In Winter backed for Derby as Delacroix on the drift for Epsom

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Tue May 20, 2025 · 7M ago

The Lion In Winter was on Monday cut in the betting for the Betfred Derby and rose back to the head of the market with Paddy Power.

Antepost favourite for the Epsom Classic throughout the winter, the son of Sea The Stars was sent off at 8/11 despite reportedly being expected to improve for his comeback run in last week's Dante Stakes, where he ended up finishing sixth behind Pride Of Arras.

Straight after the race, The Lion In Winter was a general 5/1 chance to bounce back in the Derby on June 7 but on Monday he was punted into 5/2 with Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet, as stablemate Delacroix - winner of two key 10-furlong races at Leopardstown this season - was eased out in the betting (as big as 5/1 with Sky Bet).

Aidan O'Brien, who trains the aforementioned colts, had stated that the Prix du Jockey Club - or French Derby as it is widely known - was still under consideration for both horses in light of their most recent appearances but stressed over the weekend that The Lion In Winter would step forwards considerably from his belated comeback on the Knavesmire.

Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield said on Monday: “He spoilt his otherwise unblemished curriculum vitae on the Knavesmire, but Aidan was his usual ultra-calm persona afterwards and indicated there wasn’t just going to be improvement, there would be a lot of improvement to come from The Lion In Winter.

"We pushed him out to 5/1 after the reversal, but started seeing support for him yesterday and that has very much continued today and he’s once again become favourite with punters keeping the faith in the master of Ballydoyle being able to emulate his achievements with the last two Epsom winners Auguste Rodin and City Of Troy, who both suffered shock defeats before coming up trumps where it matters most.”

Paddy Power's current second-favourite is the 2000 Guineas hero Ruling Court at 100/30, with Dante one-two Pride Of Arras and Damysus available at 4s and 10/1 respectively.

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