Balding pulls further clear of O'Brien with double in title race
Andrew Balding pulled further clear of Aidan O'Brien in the Flat trainers' championship on 9 October. He did it with two winners in under half an hour at two different tracks.
The title is decided on prize money. Balding's afternoon was built for it.
Never So Brave beat stablemate Flora Of Bermuda to win the Group Two Challenge Stakes at Newmarket, a level just below the very top of the sport. The six-runner race went off at 2.25pm and the one-two was worth a total of £129,000, with £93,572 to the winner, according to the racecard Racing TV.
Less than 30 minutes earlier, Balding's two-year-old Nakila Sun had won the British EBF Final at York. That race was worth £51,000 to the winner The Guardian.
It is a sharp turnaround. Balding was around £700,000 behind O'Brien at the end of August before eating into the gap through September. He moved in front for the first time when Blue Bolt won the Group One Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket last weekend.
The other big race at Newmarket on Friday was the Group One Fillies' Mile for two-year-old fillies over a mile. Musical Times beat Haven, with Forbidden Fire third and Scommessa Sicura fifth.
Musical Times is now unbeaten after three starts. Bookmakers quoted the winner at around 5-2 for next year's 1,000 Guineas, the classic mile race for three-year-old fillies at Newmarket.
The betting market for the trainers' title still makes O'Brien favourite. After Friday's racing, Paddy Power quoted O'Brien at 2-7, shortened from 1-4, and Balding at 5-2, shortened from 11-4.
Balding has finished runner-up in the championship in 2021 and 2024 The Guardian. In August he described victory this season as "very unlikely".
What makes this stand out is the speed of the swing. From a big deficit in late summer, Balding now heads the table with O'Brien trying to chase him down.
