Aidan O’Brien’s remarkable run through the first week of trials for the Epsom Classics continued here on Saturday as United Nations, the 9-4 second-favourite, stayed on strongly up the home straight to beat Walk Of Stars, the 11-10 market leader, in the Lingfield Derby Trial and earn a quote of around 10-1 for the Classic on 4 June.
With only four runners going to post there were concerns that it might be a slowly-run, tactical affair but Natural World, a stable-companion of the favourite at the Charlie Appleby stable, set a strong gallop from the off, with United Nations settling in behind and William Buick, on Walk Of Stars, unable to get any cover on the outside in third.
