Racing: Triple Crown talk for Derby favourite Camelot

Racing: Triple Crown talk for Derby favourite Camelot
by Elliot Slater

Thursday, May 10, 2012

It was difficult not to be impressed with the winning surge of Aidan O’Brien’s Qipco 2000 Guineas winner CAMELOT at Newmarket last Saturday, writes Elliot Slater.

And the fact that the Ballydoyle handler has not ruled out the possibility of his unbeaten colt having a crack at the Triple Crown suggests that even the unflappable Irishman sees the possibility of his latest classic winner going onto racing immortality by adding the Investec Derby and the Ladbrokes St Leger to his seasonal haul.

Camelot’s form could have a significant impact on betting trends ahead of the BetFair Epsom Derby Festival, as punters clamour to buy into O’Brien’s ambition.

Under normal circumstances talk of emulating the legendary Nijinsky and becoming the first horse since Vincent O’Brien’s all-time great to win all three colts’ classics is pretty much pie in the sky as few horses have either the pedigree, the ability, or the fortitude to have the pace to win the 2000 Guineas at a mile, the agility and talent to handle the mile-and-half of the Epsom Derby, then have the stamina and grit to step up another two and-a-half furlongs to win the St Leger at Doncaster in September.

The fact that Camelot won the 2000 Guineas despite the distance of a mile, not because of it, suggests that the Derby trip (for which he is 5/4 favourite), should prove ideal for him and that there is every chance that he might well have the temperament to settle well enough at Doncaster to see out a truly run St Leger and achieve racing immortality.

Horse racing betting trends have shifted to reflect the excitement, and it is not insignificant that a firm considered closest to the pulse at Ballydoyle, go just 3/1 about Camelot landing the Triple Crown.

O’Brien, not normally one to suggest any kind of a plan in public for his horses ahead of time, did not rule out the possibility of a Triple Crown bid with his new champion, leaving the tantalising prospect of racing fans who have waited nearly two generations to see such a feat, facing the real prospect that 2012 could be the year when a true wonder horse delivers the goods.