Fracas victory fails to clear Derby picture
David Wachman's son of In The Wings hit the front heading towards the final furlong but had to battle tooth and nail to beat John Oxx's Alayan by a short head in an exciting finish.
Aidan O'Brien's Grand Central was sent off the well-backed 6-4 favourite but was squeezed for room in the closing stages and after being switched to the centre of the track by Kieren Fallon, came home third, another length behind.
"That was a good effort. It was only his third run and he is a still a bit green, but his guts got him there," said Wachman of the 2-1 winner.
"I'll have to talk to the owner, Joe Joyce, but he is entered in a number of Derbys and is entitled to run in one, or maybe two."
Winning jockey Jamie Spencer added: "He is a good, tough horse."
Ballydoyle second string Down Mexico Way was soon out in front after the five runners left the stalls in the Group Two contest, with Alayan always close up under Mick Kinane.
Fallon settled Grand Central a further length back alongside Fracas, with Dermot Weld's Bobs Pride bringing up the rear.
It was only in the final two furlongs that the race began in earnest, with Fracas and Alayan pulling clear, and although the door was closed on Grand Central, he could not reel in the leaders when he saw daylight in the closing stages.
A stewards' inquiry was called, but the placings remained unaltered.
O'Brien, whose Gypsy King heads the betting for the Epsom Classic, said of Grand Central, who had finished runner-up to Alayan on his previous outing: "Kieren was very happy with him and he is still very much in the Epsom Derby picture.
"He ran a good race, learnt a lot and Kieren learnt a lot about him. He is a lovely horse to go forward with and we were very happy with the run.
"He is a good traveller, has plenty of pace and you would hope that he would get the Derby trip well."
Gypsy King was catapulted to the head of the betting for the June 4 contest after his extraordinary performance in the Dee Stakes at Chester.
O'Brien added: "He has come out of the race well and eaten up well. He will have learnt a lot from that run and Kieren gave him a lovely ride that will have taught him a lot."
Bookmaker reaction to yesterday's trial was mixed, with William Hill and VCbet leaving Fracas unchanged at 16-1 for Epsom but Coral going 12-1.
Hills cut Grand Central to 14-1 from 16s, but O'Brien's charge remains at 16-1 with Coral.
O'Brien enjoyed better luck in the following race as Belle Artiste left her juvenile form behind to run out a smooth winner of the Derrinstown Stud 1,000 Guineas Trial.
The 7-1 chance was having her first start for the County Tipperary-based handler in the Group Three race, having been trained by his father-in-law Joe Crowley last season.
The Namid filly flew late under Fallon and only got her head in front in the final half-furlong, with Paul Nolan's Sky High Flyer, who also come from out of the pack, taking second and Adaala third.
Jazz Princess, who gave Jessica Harrington her first Group winner on the Flat last October, was sent off the 9-4 favourite.
However, after taking the lead heading out of the back straight, she was collared inside the final two furlongs by the eventual third and came home in fourth place.
"That was a marvellous ride by Kieren as she has to be produced late," said O'Brien of his three-quarter-length winner.
"She is a very good filly who had a lot of racing last year but has improved again over the winter, and she could run in the Irish Guineas."
Belle Artiste is owned by O'Brien's wife Anne-Marie, and he added: "I'll be able to relax a bit more in the car on the way home now!"
Solskjaer was denied victory in the Listed Amethyst Stakes when worn down in the final half-furlong by last season's Irish Lincoln winner Tolpuddle.
Fallon sent the O'Brien-trained 6-4 market leader to the front approaching the final three furlongs.
But Tommy Stack's 7-2 shot came with a determined effort to cut down the leader runner-up in the Huxley Stakes at Chester just three days ago in the closing stages to score by half a length.
"That was a good performance and he always seems to run well," said Stack. "He likes a bit of cut in the ground and if it dries up we will give him a rest.
"He might go jumping in the winter and I think he would make a good hurdler."
Despite Grand Central's defeat in the trial, O'Brien added another string to his Derby bow as Scorpion justified odds-on favouritism to coast home for a half-length success in the Carrickmines Maiden.
Wachman's Magnolia Lane, an own-sister to the high-class Yeats, took up the running entering the final furlong but had victory snatched from her as Fallon sailed effortlessly past on the 4-5 winner.
"He is a lovely horse who had a few little setbacks last year and earlier this year, which meant that we couldn't get him out," O'Brien told At The Races.
"He hadn't got an awful lot of experience as the ground was so soft but we always liked him at home and always thought he was really nice maiden. Kieren gave him a lovely introduction."
Scorpion, a son of Montjeu who was making his debut in the 10-furlong contest, was introduced at 33-1 for the Epsom Classic with VCbet, who also go 40-1 about the runner-up for the Oaks.
