Gewan denies Aidan O’Brien record with shock 25-1 Dewhurst Stakes triumph

The punters cheering as the winner crossed the line in the Group One Dewhurst Stakes were the ones who had remembered the old gambling maxim that you should always forgive a good horse one bad run. Gewan, the 25-1 winner of the season’s most prestigious two-year-old race, had looked every inch a Classic prospect in his first two starts before finishing a lacklustre fourth as the 6-5 favourite for the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last month. He returned to his earlier form in no uncertain terms under a confident ride by James Doyle, who was soon settled close to the early lead before grabbing a decisive advantage with a move to the front a furlong-and-a-half out. Related: Aidan O’Brien closes on Group One record as Precise makes it 22 in 2025 Gewan, who runs in the green colours of the Chinese billionaire Zhang Yuesheng, crossed the line three-quarters of a length in front of the 7-4 favourite, Gstaad, foiling Aidan O’Brien’s tilt at a record ninth Dewhurst success. That Gstaad’s main market rival, Distant Storm, was another length-and-a-half away in third, with Zavateri, a Group One winner this season, fourth also gives a solid feel to the form. Gewan’s path through his juvenile season has also been a carbon-copy of that taken by Chaldean, the 2,000 Guineas winner in 2023, in his two-year-old campaign three years ago. Andrew Balding’s colt is now top-priced at 12-1 to give the trainer a third win in the colts’ Classic since 2020. “We were saying coming into the race that he was overpriced,” Balding said. “His York performance [in the Acomb Stakes] was really good and you’ve got to forgive him Doncaster. So we weren’t without hope, but he’s still got to come and do it, he was given a brilliant ride and he’s a very good horse.” Gewan’s owner bought into the colt after his impressive win in the Acomb, and took the subsequent failure at Town Moor in his stride. “They’re very straightforward and they took the defeat at Doncaster without flinching, having just bought the horse,” Balding said. “That enabled us to just kick on and stick with the plan we wanted, and that’s the reason he’s here. “The soft ground didn’t help at Doncaster, but I don’t think it was just that. For whatever reason, he wasn’t at his best, but he was today. It’s a relief, but his work at home suggested he would play a part today.” As a son of Night Of Thunder, the 2014 2,000 Guineas winner, Gewan is far from guaranteed to get the Derby trip, but a mile-and-a-half at Epsom promises to be ideal for Pierre Bonnard, the winner of the 10-furlong Zetland Stakes. O’Brien’s colt is by Camelot, the 2012 Derby winner, and an impressive physical specimen already with plenty of scope for further progress over the winter. The May festival at Chester is seven months away, but it is easy to see Pierre Bonnard as a leading member of O’Brien’s squad for a meeting where he trialled Lambourn and Minnie Hauk, the Derby and Oaks winners respectively, this year. Chepstow: 1.32 Deep Purple 2.07 Settle Down Jill 2.42 Blueking D’Oroux 3.17 Celtic Dino 3.52 Saint Segal 4.27 Bubble Dubi 5.02 Cooltobecareless. Goodwood: 1.52 Spiced Rum 2.27 Funlover 3.02 Crazee Icon 3.37 Righthere Rightnow (nb) 4.12 Poseidon’s Warrior 4.47 Knights Gold 5.22 Day Of Grace (nap). “He was a little green, but Christophe [Soumillon] was very happy with him and he’s a very straightforward horse,” O’Brien said. “I think he’ll be a Derby trial horse and we’ll go from there, but I imagine he is going to really do well over the winter months.” The Zetland is the only British Group race for juveniles at a trip beyond a mile but Soumillon reported that Pierre Bonnard, a general 16-1 chance for next year’s Derby, still had plenty left at the post. “When I started to ask him to pick up at the four-furlong marker, he changed gear really easily,” Soumillon said. “He still had plenty of power after the line so I’m sure he will be some horse next season.”