FIRST the ground, then the draw. If Saxon Warrior goes and wins today’s Investec Derby, he will have done it despite the circumstances, not because of them.

The ground was soft when Aidan O’Brien’s horse won the Beresford Stakes at Naas last September, and it was good to soft when he won the Racing Post Trophy. But it was good when he won the Guineas, when he put up the best performance of his life to date.