Ballydoyle Colt Stakes Leading Leger Claims

Scandinavia (3c Justify – Fabulous, by Galileo) was slashed to 5/1 for the St Leger after a totally dominant win in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes at Thursday.

Aidan O’Brien’s charge made a winning start to the season when landing a Navan maiden over ten furlongs and made a promising step up in class next time, finishing a length and a half behind the unbeaten Carmers (Wootton Bassett) in the Group 2 Queen’s Vase.

Sent off favourite at Newmarket, the Coolmore-owned colt raced prominently throughout under Ryan Moore and asserted with over three furlongs left to race. Ridden approaching the two-furlong pole, the son of Justify began to draw clear a furlong later and stretched eight and a half lengths clear by the post.

Ryan Moore later commented: “Scandinavia has been improving with every race and ran well at Ascot. He got into a lovely rhythm today and stayed on really well. He was impressive today.”

Co-owner Derrick Smith added: “I think the St Leger in England, or Ireland, would be targets and then hopefully he can develop into a Cup horse for next year.

“We can plot our way to those nice staying races for the rest of the year. We’ll see how the horses perform over the festivals at Goodwood and York. He seems to have improved again since Ascot. Hopefully now we can have some fun with him over these longer distances.”