THE Derby and Oaks at Epsom may not hold the racing world in thrall in quite the way they once did, but part of their enduring appeal is that the period leading up to them is liberally scattered with races that can only be seen as trials for the big occasion.

A lot of the fun is in the anticipation, and in picking through the evidence in the weeks and months before the first weekend in June, and not just in the event itself.

Some of the races are even called “Trials”, and I will be looking at a few of them here (York’s Dante Meeting will be dealt with in next week’s Time Will Tell).

Where the Derby is concerned, there were mixed messages from the Chester Vase and Dee Stakes at Chester, the Derby Trial at Lingfield, and the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial at Leopardstown.

The best timefigure (112) was recorded by Young Rascal in overcoming some trouble in running to win the first-named, thereby building on his fast time Newbury maiden win that had been written up in these pages previously.

A half-length defeat of Dee Ex Bee, who had won just two of his previous six races, is not classic-winning form, but Young Rascal showed a good turn of foot once in the clear (24.95s final two furlongs is worth a further upgrade of two) and should continue to go the right way after just three races. He is now around 12/1 for the Derby having been 40/1 the day before Chester.

The next-best winning timefigure was Knight To Behold’s 109, with sectionals suggesting he was not flattered to win despite slipping his rivals mid-race at Lingfield.

Kew Gardens (106) might get closer to him another day but Knight To Behold is another who was having just his third race and who could well progress further.

I make Hazapour’s timefigure 106 from Leopardstown, but in this instance quick closing sectionals by the principals definitely point to the likelihood of better, not least for Hazapour (35.6s last three furlongs, 8lb upgrade) and runner-up Delano Roosevelt (35.5s, 9lb upgrade to a basic 105 timefigure).

The Pentagon’s claims seem to hinge on the chance that he is better on top of the ground (and will get it at Epsom), but Nelson (who had beaten both Delano Roosevelt and The Pentagon last time) simply seemed to run poorly.

The weakest link among the aforementioned trials was the Dee Stakes, won by Rostropovich, which resulted in a surprisingly slow overall time (92 timefigure) and some modest closing sectionals.

The son of Frankel won by a clear margin but might well have had little to beat on the day.

In summary, it is possible to envisage a good few of the above sneaking into a place in the Derby itself (not that they can all do that!), but it is likely to take a significant step forward for them to challenge for a win.

You nearly always need to be rated into the 120s to win racing’s blue riband, and only Saxon Warrior and Masar have looked that class so far.