William Hill Lingfield Derby Trial Stakes
 QuinnBet
Listed, Lingfield 15:00
£60,000 guaranteed,
3yo only,
1m 4f, Class 1   
Saturday 10th May 2025

%ALT_TXT%%

1 Puppet Master 4/5F
2 Stay True 5/2
3 Nightime Dancer 9/1
6 ran NR: Rahiebb Distances: shd, 3½l, 4l
Time: 2m 27.43s (slow by 0.93s)

Aidan O’Brien’s stranglehold on the Derby trials tightened further at Lingfield, as Puppet Master edged out Stay True in a compelling renewal, continuing a week of domination by the Ballydoyle battalions.

Following on from victories in the Chester Vase and Dee Stakes with Lambourn and Mount Kilimanjaro, and the fillies’ equivalents claimed by Minnie Hauk and Giselle, this latest success underscored the depth of O'Brien’s Classic cohort as Epsom looms ever closer.

It was the selection of Ryan Moore that first raised eyebrows—choosing the more exposed Puppet Master over the unbeaten Stay True at declarations. But as O’Brien later explained, experience tipped the scales, and it proved the telling difference when the pair pulled clear.

Stay True, still very much learning on the job, didn’t travel with total fluency and was niggled along from some way out. Puppet Master, the 4-5 favourite, was hardly foot-perfect either—wandering under pressure in the final furlong—but Moore had always looked confident he’d get there, and he was proved right, holding his stablemate by a short head in a finish that spoke of class rather than dominance.

The market responded in kind, with Puppet Master trimmed to 25-1 from 50s for the Derby, while Stay True, despite the narrow defeat, surely enhanced his reputation with a performance full of promise.

Moore reflected: “We thought a lot of him in the Royal Lodge last year, but it didn’t quite happen. Leopardstown last time was more like it, and that bit of know-how helped him today. They’re two nice horses—I only went with Puppet Master because he’d been in the trenches already.”

Paul Smith of Coolmore echoed the sentiment: “They’re both progressive types. Ryan felt Puppet Master relaxed well and was very straightforward, while Richard (Kingscote) was full of encouragement about Stay True—still raw but with plenty to come.”

And it wasn’t just the front two that drew the eye—the margin back to the third underlined the quality on display. With more trial action to come at Leopardstown, York, and further afield in France, the Classic picture is far from complete. But O’Brien, as ever, holds several aces—“Delacroix, The Lion In Winter, and others yet to run all come into play,” said Smith. “It’s an exciting time.”

%ALT_TXT%%

Derby Trial Stakes (Listed)
£60,000 guaranteed, 3yo only, 1m 4f, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Good to Firm

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (2)    Puppet Master 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 4/5F
2 (5) shd Stay True 3 9-2 A P O'Brien Richard Kingscote 5/2
3 (4) 3½ Nightime Dancer 3 9-2 Richard Hannon Sean Levey 9/1
4 (7) 4 Our 'enery 3 9-2 Andrew Balding Jason Watson 40/1
5 (3) 2 Prince Of The Seas 3 9-2 Ralph Beckett Hector Crouch 8/1
6 (6) ½ Rogue Impact 3 9-2 James Owen Daniel Muscutt 22/1
NR 5 (1) Rahiebb 3 9-2 Roger Varian NON RUNNER

%ALT_TXT%%