BETFRED will offer a £2m bonus to any horse who can land the British Triple Crown after taking on the sponsorship of all three legs – the 2000 Guineas, the Derby and the St Leger. The bookmaker, founded and owned by Fred Done, was already the sponsor of the Oaks, Derby and the Leger, and finished the classic portfolio when Qipco ceased to put their name to the Guineas earlier in the week.

No horse has landed the Triple Crown since the Vincent O’Brien-trained Nijinsky under Lester Piggott in 1970, with Camelot coming closest in recent years when taking the Guineas and the Derby in 2012 before narrowly missing out on the final prize in the Leger.

City Of Troy, trained like Camelot by Aidan O’Brien, was thought to hold a chance of succeeding where Camelot failed this season but his bid fell at the first hurdle when he could not land a blow in the Guineas – although he did bounce back to take the Derby.

Betfred boss Done said of the incentive: “Nobody has ever sponsored all five British classics and I am so proud to be the first. I am honoured as a bookmaker to be supporting the sport that I love.

“I want to put the British classics back where they belong, at the forefront of global horseracing.

“It (Triple Crown) hasn’t been done since Nijinsky back in 1970, and although Camelot came very close in 2012, it seems about time we were celebrating another Triple Crown winner.”

Aidan O’Brien said: “We all at Ballydoyle and Coolmore greatly appreciate all Betfred’s sponsorship throughout the season and this bonus will make the classic races even more exciting.

“It takes a very unique horse to go through all the Triple Crown races – they have got to have quality, class, speed, stamina and mental strength.”