O'Brien scratches Derby dark horse Montreal as Epsom picture tightens

Montreal's Derby move ended before it really began, with Aidan O'Brien taking the Sea The Stars colt out at the latest acceptance stage after he had been flagged in March as a dark horse for Epsom. The cut is meaningful because Montreal was no throwaway outsider: his price had shortened to 20-1, and his August 2025 maiden win at Leopardstown, by eight lengths, had hinted at the kind of upside that can change a Classic narrative fast.

O'Brien removed seven colts in all, including Albert Einstein and Dorset, but Pierre Bonnard, Christmas Day and Hawk Mountain remained in the race. That matters for the shape of the Derby more than for the headline count. The Ballydoyle hand is slimmer now, yet still formidable, and the latest trim looks more like disciplined sorting than a retreat. The immediate market effect is to strengthen the current favorite tier, not to blow the race open. Montreal's absence takes away one of the more intriguing second-wave names, but O'Brien still has enough depth to keep the Epsom conversation centred on his stable.

For rivals outside Ballydoyle, the benefit is clear but limited. One well-backed, well-regarded colt has disappeared from the betting matrix, which gives the rest of the field a little more breathing room. What it does not do is create a clean pace vacuum or a clear pedigree door for an unheralded challenger. If anything, the scratch makes the race look a shade more concentrated, with the top end of the market likely to absorb the shock while the longer shots search for a different angle into the contest.

The broader Classic picture reinforces how much O'Brien still controls across Europe. The same acceptance stage left 19 fillies in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp, with Diamond Necklace among those removed for the Betfred Oaks and five potential Ballydoyle runners still standing in the French 1,000 Guineas field. Ten of those 19 fillies are trained in Britain or Ireland, a reminder that the spring Classics remain a transnational contest in which Ballydoyle and its chief rivals shape the market as much as they shape the race.

Montreal's exit is therefore a cut, not a collapse. O'Brien has narrowed his Derby hand, but Pierre Bonnard, Christmas Day and Hawk Mountain keep Ballydoyle at the center of the Epsom frame, and the betting will now reflect a sharper, more concentrated challenge rather than a meaningful weakening of his position.