EVERY year the old cliché is trotted out that the Derby is the greatest test of a racehorse, and every year the pronouncement is met with the equally predictable statement that if you wanted to construct a contest which was designed to produce a champion thoroughbred, you’d be very unlikely to start at Epsom.

Some of us tend to sway between those extremes based on the success of our bets on the day of course, but some men know better than others, and while Aidan O’Brien’s post-race interview contained the usual platitudes which must be produced on such an occasion, he revealed a lot more about why he, and the Coolmore organisation masterminded by John Magnier, have been so successful in the race, and why the Derby is currently dominated by that great racing behemoth.