Bellum Justum wins Blue Riband Trial at Epsom, fighting off Defiance’s late charge.

The son of Sea The Stars, who was cut to 25-1 (from 50) by Paddy Power for the Epsom Classic on June 1, stalked favourite Chief Little Rock before sweeping clear in the final furlong to score by three-quarters of a length under Oisin Murphy. “He showed a lot of promise last year but he had a little setback about a month ago and I thought he was bound to come on for the run and I’m sure that is the case,” Balding said.

“We had thought prior to this that whatever he did today, we’d go to the Dante and really find out there. We’ll have to see, he’s very well balanced, professional and he’ll improve a lot for it.”

The win marked the Kingsclere trainer’s first black-type success of the 2024 Flat season and ended his 12-year wait for another Blue Riband winner, having last scored in the 1m2f contest with Goldoni in 2012. Defiance, who was also halved in price to 33-1 for the Derby, made an eyecatching late charge under James Doyle to finish a neck ahead of the odds-on third Chief Little Rock.

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