O’Brien’s Stone Age is Derby favourite

STONE AGE is the new 3-1 favourite for the Cazoo Derby after impressively winning the Leopardstown Derby Trial half an hour after stablemate Luxembourg was ruled out of next month’s Classic. The disappointment trainer Aidan O’Brien (below) and his No 1 jockey Ryan Moore must have felt at Luxembourg being ruled out of Epsom on June 4 was softened by the way Stone Age stormed five-and-a-half lengths clear of runner-up Glory Daze. The duo enjoyed a clean sweep in last week’s Derby trials with wins for Changingoftheguard in the Chester Vase, Star Of India in the Dee Stakes and United Nations in the Lingfield Derby Trial. But none left as big an impression as Stone Age, a son of Galileo who failed to win in five races as a two-year-old but who contested two Group One races, securing second place behind El Bodegon in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Yesterday’s run was Stone Age’s second of the season having won a Navan maiden in March. O’Brien said: ‘We always thought he was very good. He usually steps quick out of the gate and is a high cruiser. He has that class to pick up and then pushes it all the way. He never looks to be getting weak at the line.’ O’Brien now has four of the first six in the Derby betting with one major trial — Thursday’s Dante Stakes at York — still to run. O’Brien confirmed the injury scare reported with Luxembourg on Friday has been confirmed as a muscle injury which will see him out until later this season. He said: ‘Hopefully he will be back for the autumn. That is the plan anyway.’