'He's our worst result in the Derby for ten years' - City Of Troy victory leaves bookmakers licking wounds

Bookmakers were left ruing City Of Troy's sensational return to form in the Betfred Derby, with victory for the 3-1 favourite roundly being cited as the worst possible result for layers.

Firms had been keen to take on the favourite in the run-up to the Classic after he flopped at 4-6 in the 2,000 Guineas last month, with on-course bookmaker Joe O’Gorman saying before racing: "Every bookmaker on the track wants to be against City Of Troy."

O'Gorman also referenced layers taking the same stance against Auguste Rodin last year before his comeback success in the Derby, and once again Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore delivered for punters, ensuring that City Of Troy was the only winning favourite across the two-day Derby meeting.

Paul Binfield, spokesman for Paddy Power, said: "That was very bad as City Of Troy was the worst result in our book and it was particularly bad in the betting shops.

"That's the second year running Aidan has conjured a Lazarus-style comeback in the biggest betting Flat race of the year, and we're highly likely to ignore any poor performance from a well-fancied Ballydoyle horse in next year's 2,000 Guineas."

Winning connections were presented with their prizes by Fred Done, founder and owner of Betfred, whose frustration at the cost of the result was mitigated by O’Brien landing the Derby for a record tenth time.

"City Of Troy has cost us a fortune, but you have to pay out with a smile when you're witnessing history," said Done. "It's an incredible achievement from Aidan O’Brien to win ten Derbys. He truly is the master."

Sky Bet, Ladbrokes and Coral all reported a bad result, with William Hill describing it as the firm's worst in the race for a decade.

Spokesman Lee Phelps said: "Ahead of the Derby we weren't sure which City Of Troy we'd see, but we were treated to a sensational Epsom performance, one which punters will be fondly remembering for a long time to come.

"He's our worst result in the Derby for ten years and is almost certainly one of our heaviest losses in 2024."

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