I’M not too proud to say I shop at Poundland. In fact, I’m actually quite proud that I do shop at Poundland. And Iceland. And Farmfoods. Lidl is a rare treat, and even the wife will go into Aldi without a disguise. However, Poundland is the true barometer of thrift, and the name itself strikes fear into the hearts of the aspirational shopper.

Some stores will pay good money for a rebrand in order to assuage the embarrassment of potential customers, but Poundland know that their clientele have no such angst. We want a bargain and it’s handy when there is a massive clue in the name. Some fancy title plundered from ancient Greek might lull a certain class of customer into a false sense of glamour, but we Poundland aficionados don’t need the gratification. We don’t need to kid ourselves that our in-shop experience bestows any special kudos on us. We are at peace with ourselves.

It’s appropriate that Poundland’s parent company Steinhoff International, of which racehorse owner Markus Jooste is CEO, should strike a deal at Epsom for the Derby. I was intrigued to read in this week’s Guardian that: “Investec’s sponsorship of the Derby meeting has evoked an elegant, glamorous image of Derby Day which appears to be a sharp contrast to Poundland’s bargain basement profile.”

This image of the Derby as an altogether elegant affair is at odds with the glorious, colourful history of the greatest occasion in the flat race calendar. The Derby is about glamour, certainly, and watching events from the Queen’s Stand is akin to attending Royal Ascot. If you squint a bit.

However, the fancy enclosures at Epsom are not, and never have been, what the Derby is about. The Derby has always represented the dichotomy of the upper classes rubbing shoulders with the peasantry, and while we are constantly told that we now live in a classless society, the general uproar which greeted the news that the Epsom Hill would be rebranded as Poundland Hill for the next decade, suggests that we are simply building new class walls behind which to hide.

The motto of the infamous News of The World was “All Human Life Is Here”, and that’s a line which could have been coined specifically for Derby Day, and the frontispiece of Michael Seth-Smith and Roger Mortimer’s 1979 book Derby 200 is an old map of the racecourse which denotes the Hill as a place for “Gipseying, Pugilism & Rings For Horses” along with a collection of booths for varying activities.

HISTORIC APPEAL

Far from ruining the romance of Epsom, celebrating the Hill is actually a positive step towards recognising the historic appeal of Derby Day. It’s not all morning dress and top hats, thank heavens, and since the Hill is public land, the racecourse won’t be able to enforce some heavy-handed dress code, which is something to cheer about.

There is no reason why racing shouldn’t embrace a sponsorship deal which spans a decade and doesn’t seek to whitewash the heritage of the sport, although a section of the racing public and press will pretty much always highlight the negative connotation of any commercial sponsorship.

What needs to happen now is that rather than simply pocket the cash and trumpet the new benefactor’s name, Epsom should do all it can to champion the Hill for the rough diamond it is, and always has been.