Aidan O'Brien saddles two in Newbury's G1 Lockinge on Saturday but punters split A closely fought betting heat has emerged for Saturday’s Group 1 BOYLE Sports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury after a final field of ten was declared for the 2026 renewal on Thursday morning. Damysus heads the market as a marginal 5/2 favourite with the sponsors, as trainers John Gosden and Thady Gosden bid to land a third consecutive victory in the race following recent successes with Audience and Lead Artist. Hot on his heels in the betting is Zeus Olympios at 3/1, who is looking to bounce back from a defeat at Sandown last month, while last year’s fourth, Notable Speech, is also prominent in the market at 7/2 for Charlie Appleby. Aidan O'Brien fields two runners, with the supplemented Mississippi River the 66/1 outsider of the field, but stablemate The Lion In Winter is considered a leading hope for Coolmore at 7/1 as he chases a first Group 1 success, having placed in the Moulin, the QEII and the Breeders’ Cup Mile within the past year. With little separating the leading contenders, Sahlan is an eye-catching market mover behind, with solid each-way support seeing the Prix du Moulin winner clipped into 10/1 (from 16/1). Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BOYLE Sports, said: “There has been some solid each-way support for Sahlan from the powerful Francis-Henri Graffard stable, but we’ve struggled to separate the principals at the head of the market. Damysus is shading favouritism by a whisker, however it’s a really competitive renewal and we couldn’t be certain of who will be favourite come the off on Saturday.” BOYLE Sports Lockinge Stakes betting: Damysus 5/2, Zeus Olympios 3/1, Notable Speech 7/2, The Lion In Winter 7/1, Sahlan and More Thunder 10/1, Jonquil 16/1, Dancing Gemini 33-1, Cicero’s Gift 40-1, Mississippi River 66-1
