IT is difficult to remember a Derby in which the picture has been in such a state of flux just two weeks out. Few of the trials have gone the way that the market expected, and the two horses that top the market are both quoted ‘with a run’.

No horse has really grabbed the race. US Army Ranger had his chance but he wasn’t impressive in winning the Chester Vase. Midterm had his chance but he was well beaten in the Dante and is now in a race against time to get there.

Idaho had his chance but he was beaten in the Derrinstown. And the market has not grown to love the big trial winners yet.

But the uncertainty only adds to the intrigue. Sure, you’d love to see a Sea The Stars or a Camelot or an Australia winning all before him and winning the Derby as well, but there is just as much enjoyment to be gleaned from taking all the pieces in this puzzle and trying to put it all together.

And there remains the fascinating possibility that something could win out of the park. Something could step forward now from their trial and blitz the field. It could be US Army Ranger, it could be Wings of Desire, it could be Moonlight Magic, it could be Cloth Of Stars, it could be The Gurkha.

The uncertainty also adds to the income from supplementary entry fees.