Bellum Justum scores Blue Riband Trial success at Epsom

Bellum Justum halved in price for the Derby after Andrew Balding's colt won the Betfred Blue Riband Trial at Epsom.

While he took four attempts to get off the mark as a juvenile, the form of his win over Kevin Ryan’s Inisherin now looks much stronger than it did at the time and he took another leap forward here.

Ridden by Oisin Murphy, he was content to take a lead off Ryan Moore on Aidan O’Brien’s Chief Little Rock and with those in behind struggling to get on terms, it soon developed into a battle.

Bellum Justum held a narrow advantage for much of the final furlong but while he was well on top of the Ballydoyle runner close home, Roger Varian’s Defiance began to stay on strongly.

Without looking like winning, he closed to within three-quarters of a length of the 9-1 winner, looking promising for the future on just his third outing.

Bellum Justum was cut to as short as 25-1 with a number of firms.

Bellum Justum forges ahead to take the Listed @Betfred Blue Riband Trial in good style on seasonal reappearance, with the Sea The Stars colt scoring under the guidance of @oismurphy for trainer @AndrewBalding2