Aidan O’Brien wins Derby trial at Leopardstown with ‘lazy’ Broome

“He’s not slow, he’s just lazy,” was the interesting line of defence taken by Aidan O’Brien after his Broome ground his way to victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown.

For a 2-5 favourite, Broome took his time to get on level terms with his pacemaker, leaving some observers with the impression he may be more of a St Leger candidate than one for the Derby in just under three weeks’ time.

“Funny, I think he looks more lazy than stays,” countered O’Brien, who clearly expects Broome to form part of his team for the Epsom Classic. “He’s out of a very fast mare, so his pedigree’s very quick. He has a lot more speed than you think. Just because he looks a little bit laboured, he’s more lazy than anything. So I wouldn’t be sure how far he’d get. You’d be really hoping, looking at him, that he’d get a mile and a half but after that you wouldn’t be sure.”

Having started the day as a 10-1 shot for the Derby, Broome is now no bigger than 7-1, making him the third favourite behind Sir Dragonet and Too Darn Hot. The latter is the only leading Derby contender not trained in Ballydoyle and will face his own trial in Thursday’s Dante Stakes.

O’Brien was evidently keen on postponing decisions about which of his impressive collection of three-year-old colts will line up in the Derby, though it was interesting that he put in a word, unprompted, for Mohawk, the runner-up in the Dee Stakes on Thursday.

The trainer also waved away any doubt that his employers will find the £85,000 to make a late entry for Sir Dragonet, so impressive in the Chester Vase.

“I would imagine if that needs to happen, it will happen,” O’Brien said. “He had an awful lot to learn in a short space of time and that’s why we went to Chester with him. Really, I thought he was going to be very raw and very green but we had to let him go round there and see.”

He does not share concerns that Sir Dragonet may need soft ground to be at his best. “He ran on soft ground, because when he ran that’s the way it was. At Chester, we weren’t probably expecting it to be as soft as it was. But he’s a well-made, balanced horse, so I don’t think it [a faster surface] would be any problem.”

At Longchamp, Persian King was an impressive winner of the French Guineas, despite fears over the tacky ground. André Fabre’s star is now likely to be aimed at the Prix du Jockey-Club.