"He’s a little bit behind the others" - The Lion In Winter drifts, Expanded thrown into 2000 Guineas favouritism

In Aidan O'Brien's stable tour for the 2025 flat season that was published last Friday, he described The Lion In Winter as "an obvious candidate for the 2000 Guineas". O'Brien's colt ran out an impressive winner of the Acomb Stakes at York last August, but a slight setback ruled him out of an autumn juvenile campaign.

The Lion In Winter sat atop the betting for the 2025 2000 Guineas during the entire off-season, with stablemates Expanded and Twain also prominent in the market. However, The Lion In Winter took a walk in that Classic market on Monday, when Aidan O'Brien provided an update on his budding star.

"The Lion In Winter is in good shape but he took a little bit of time to come right so he’s a little bit behind the others." O'Brien revealed. 

"He was at the Curragh last weekend and it went well and the work was easy. Whether he’ll make it in time for the Guineas, I’m not sure. He’s carrying plenty of condition, so in the next few weeks we’ll know.

"There has to be a doubt about the Guineas, but he’s very well. I don't think he'll be ready in time but that's not to say he won't be, we'll know in the next couple of weeks. If he doesn't go, he'll go to the Dante on the way to the Derby." 

Straight after this news made the headlines, Ladbrokes reported that Expanded had shortened from 8/1 to 6/1 for the first Classic of the season. Previous favourite The Lion In Winter simultaneously drifted from 5/1 to 8/1 on Monday morning. Twain was also backed into 8/1 from 14/1.

Cal Gildart of Ladbrokes told RacingInsider.com, “Punter support has seen one Aidan O’Brien colt leapfrog another at the head of the betting for the first leg of the Triple Crown. But with more than a month to go, there’s plenty of time for more movement before the runners hit the Rowley Mile.”

Expanded finished a very close second to Shadow Of Light in last year's Dewhurst Stakes, just a week after making a successful debut at the Curragh.

Twain went one better than his stablemate when he made his Group One debut in France last October. Eight days after his winning debut at Leopardstown, Ryan Moore's mount won the Criterium International and O'Brien spoke highly of both during Monday's interview.

O'Brien continued, "What Twain and Expanded did last year was very unusual as the two of them came out late and in seven or eight days they came back with massive runs in Group 1s."

"Physically, Twain has done very well. It ended up soft for both his runs but we think he'd have no problem on better ground. He's doing everything great and could start in the 2000 Guineas. He looks a very good horse and looks like he'll have no problem getting a mile, while he seems like he will get a mile and a quarter well and if he's that good over that distance, he could get the Derby trip."

"He won by five or six lengths at Leopardstown on bad ground and Ryan said he was very green in France as it was the first time he was following horses on the track.

"Expanded got beat a short head in the Dewhurst so he's not a Group winner. He could go to the Curragh for the Tetrarch the day after the Guineas if he doesn't go to Newmarket. He looks like he's going to stay. It was an incredible run in the Dewhurst on his second start."