Racing Post Trophy - Kingsbarns Gamble Continues

Kings Ransom? - Supplemented Kingsbarns continues to be well backed for the Racing Post Trophy

The money continued to pour in today for Aidan O’Brien’s supplemented Racing Post Trophy contender Kingsbarns.

Along with Richard Hannon’s Van Der Neer, the once-raced, unbeaten colt was supplemented for the Group 1 contest yesterday at a cost of £17,500 and immediately caused a stir with bookies.

Last night Bet365 had Kingsbarns as low as 3/1 while Coral still had him at 6/1, with several other bookies scattered in between those prices. Today the money has continued to come for the impressive Navan-winner and he is now clear favourite and no bigger than 5/2, with Coral still top-price – the 5/2 is also available with Boylesports at the time of writing.

Kingsbarns is as short as 2/1 with most of the other high street bookies with former favourite Battle Of Marengo now on the drift along with the majority of the rest of the field; although there has been money for Mark Johnston’s tough Steeler and Jim Bolger’s Future Champions Day winner Trading Leather in places.

The Kingsbarns supplementation and subsequent gamble raises a number of intriguing questions, was O’Brien lacking in confidence in his other entries for the race or does he just want to give himself maximum opportunity to take home the £122,494 on offer for the winner given how close the trainer’s championship is at present?

After Kingsbarns’ Navan romp Joseph O’Brien reportedly suggested that although he was still quite green the horse would maybe be put away for the season with any eye on next year – he is currently 20/1 for next year’s Derby.
Thus it is a little surprising to see him supplemented for a race the O’Brien team already have such a strong hand in.

The way the money has piled on the horse in the last twenty four hours though suggests that for most people this will be Aidan O’Brien’s best chance of victory in a race he won last year with a very lightly raced horse called Camelot.