Aidan O’Brien backs Serpentine to show Derby success was no fluke in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp
- Serpentine pulled off a shock at Epsom a week after landing a Curragh maiden
- He runs for the first time since then in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp
- O’Brien expects Serpentine to show his Derby success in July was no fluke
Aidan O’Brien expects Serpentine to show his Derby success in July was no fluke when he runs for the first time since then in the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.
Serpentine pulled off a 25-1 shock at Epsom when — just a week after landing a Curragh maiden — he made all under jockey Emmet McNamara and never looked like being pegged back when rounding Tattenham Corner 12 lengths clear.
The tactical nature of the race saw some question the value of the form, but the stopwatch was evidence of a top-notch effort.
Aidan O’Brien (left) expects Serpentine to show his Derby success in July was no fluke
O’Brien, who has booked Christophe Soumillon to ride Serpentine in France, said: ‘We always thought Serpentine was a very smart middle-distance horse. He has always been relentless in his work. He’d go an even, strong gallop and would not surrender.
‘I would not be fooled by what anyone thinks about Epsom. Whatever race he runs in, he makes the running and you need to follow him because he does not come back.
‘It will be a run to get him started back and we will see where we go after that, but a race like the Arc is obviously possible.’
The opposition includes Ed Walker-trained English King (Frankie Dettori), diverted from Saturday’s St Leger, plus Paul and Oliver Cole’s Highland Chief and O’Brien’s Mogul.
