Is A Bet On Bolshoi Ballet Your Only Epsom Derby Option?

Image source: monkeywing, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The exit of High Definition to go and run the Curragh in the Irish Derby leaves Bolshoi Ballet almost unchallenged. This mirrors similar situations in both the Belmont Stakes and then the Ascot Gold Cup. They both have heavy favorites too. Of course, that’s never the whole story. Just because the online sportsbook sites in the UK like Bet365 say it’s a foregone conclusion, doesn’t mean it is. Indeed, you may wish to resist that all but irresistible bet on Bolshoi Ballet. 

Most people will bet on Bolshoi Ballet because it’s the favorite. Online bookies in the UK seat it at around Evens, or shorter. They might have shifted that price if High Definition was still in the running, but it isn’t. Withdrawn to run across the Irish Sea, it’ll be a great bet on the Irish Derby. Which means Bolshoi Ballet is the only sensible bet on the Epsom Derby, right? Well maybe. No one is going to argue with its form. The Leopardstown wins in April and May totally proved that.

However whilst that is a good basis for its short odds on the Epsom Derby, Bolshoi Ballet has only ever won at Leopardstown. At both Newmarket and Saint-Cloud it was less than impressive. Does that mean it can only ever win at Leopardstown? Is locality a secret of its success? Probably not. But just perhaps those Evens odds on the Epsom Derby at online betting sites in the UK like Bet365, aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. So what are the other options for your Derby wager?    

Dettori To Ride John Leeper In The Epsom Derby

Well Mac Swiney, Mohaafeth and John Leeper all sit at 6/1 and make fine alternatives to a bet on Bolshoi Ballet. John Leeper in particular is worth a closer look. With High Definition trundling off to Ireland, Frankie Dettori will ride John Leeper instead. That makes it quite the chance given his endless experience. It would be his third Epsom Derby win. Still, once you take a bet on Bolshoi Ballet out of the equation even Hurricane Lane out at 8/1 is worth a second glance.  

2021 Epsom Derby Odds

• Seattle Sound – 250/1
• Mojo Star – 150/1
• The Mediterranean –  100/1
• Gear Up – 66/1
• Sir Lamorak – 50/1
• Van Gogh – 33/1
• Youth Spirit – 33/1
• Adayar – 33/1
• One Ruler – 25/1
• Southern Lights – 20/1
• Third Realm – 12/1
• Hurricane Lane – 8/1
• John Leeper – 6/1
• Mohaafeth – 6/1
• Mac Swiney – 6/1
• Bolshoi Ballet – Evens
• See more stats at bet365…

You can say much the same about Essential Quality in the Belmont Stakes. After the Baffert drug scandal, it’s a hollow race this year. Similar to Epsom the favorite looks, at first glance, like the only reasonable bet on the Belmont Stakes. Of course, a bet on Bolshoi Ballet at Epsom won’t get you the 2/1 a bet on Essential Quality will at Belmont. But 2/1 is hardly earthshattering. If you’re going to take advantage of UK gambling laws at Bet365 it should at least be worth your while.      

Bet365 Has Your Bet On Bolshoi Ballet

What’s worse is that looking ahead to the Ascot Gold Cup odds, another famous yearly flutter for folk in the UK, Stradivarius has that all sewn up too. A bet on Stradivarius to win the gold cup is going for 5/4 (perhaps Evens now). Subjectivist the only alternative loitering at 6/1 with Trueshan somewhere out beyond 7/1. Hardly exciting. Still Royal Ascot has plenty of other races. That’s something neither Epsom nor Belmont can really boast. So they’re relying on some upsets.

2021 Belmont Stakes Odds

• France Go De Ina – 33/1
• Overtook – 25/1
• Bourbonic – 25/1
• Known Agenda – 6/1
• Rock Your World – 5/1
• Hot Rod Charlie – 11/2
• Rombauer – 11/4
• Essential Quality – 2/1

Well at Epsom that’s perfectly possible. That bet on Bolshoi Ballet could back a paper tiger. However, at Belmont you really do have to think that Essential Quality has this one in the bag. The field is tired, the trainers under fire and the fans are still facing other issues. So this weekend you may wish to step lightly and bet on sports in the UK at Bet365 rather than on races across the pond. Bolshoi Ballet just looks a little bit too good to be true, and we’ve all seen that before.

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We take a look at why a bet on Bolshoi Ballet isn’t actually the only sensible bet on the Epsom Derby 2021 and why.