STRANGE that the strength of the Epsom Derby field is often decried before the race is run.

This tendency could be down to the fact that we haven’t become as familiar as we need to be with the protagonists. That they are not embedded deeply into our psyche, not before the Derby is run, not like they will be when they go on and win the Eclipse or the King George or the Arc, or when they are going off to stud and we are lamenting the fact that their racing careers could not have been extended.