On the open bridge of a giant cruise ship…
Whilst navigating through the notorious Drake Passage in high and wild seas…
Incessant and torrential and very very wet….
Weather Gods, you were ‘aving a larf….
Rain and parades go hand in hand. But parades go on, whatever the weather, and whilst the giant cruise ship that is the Epsom Grandstand tottered and billowed as the rain buffeted her sides, races were run and great fun was had…
Despite the “incessant”, this was a million times better than the desolate, dispiriting and depressing 2025 renewal. And if the sun had shone, which it will do on the first Saturday of June in 2027, we would be reflecting on a masterful sea change of perception and positivity…
The monsoon and “Christmas Day on Derby Day” and a bonkers BHA bizarre “non runner” call captured the headlines, but huge credit is due to those who turned a ship away from crashing terminally into the rocks of disaster…
It will take more than one wet Derby. And some who joined the trail of cars that were leaving the sodden hill as runners headed to post for the second race will need some persuading to give it another go. But the whole look and the feel of the build up was tens of furlongs better than in previous times, and the Epsom Derby can and will rage back to be the centrepiece of the sporting world on the first Saturday in June. Or Wednesday, Thursday or Friday…??!!
Benvenuto Cellini. Derby favourite. Deemed a non runner by the raceday stewards. Because, in the words of Steward Shaun Parker, “he left the stalls on three legs.” Sure, he was slowly away – but hardly in a “game over” manner, and plenty have won races from far worse starts…
Can of worms time methinks ?! Tex left the Leicester stalls a month or so ago on two legs. Rearing badly as the stalls opened. Up on two legs. Losing many more lengths than BC did in The Derby. Beaten an agonising neck at the line when he should clearly have won. Was he deemed a non runner on the day ?? Of course not, and the thought that he could be never crossed my mind…
This was one of the most bizarre and bonkers and, to my mind, flawed and misguided of BHA calls that I have witnessed. Sadly, “BHA” and “bonkers” and much more slip all too easily into the same sentence. I look forward to speaking to Mr Parker when our paths next cross about a few of our’s that have been compromised at the start…
I’m not ending on that note. Back to the positives. We hosted a picnic in the Derby Stables car park. I imagined a flapping gazebo and a die hard handful of friends. Not a bit of it. We were undercover in the old stable block as the rain lashed and the wind raged, and our friends turned out in force. It was not perfect because 25 degrees and blue skies would have been perfect – but it was fun and funny, and the lovely comments through yesterday from those who attended made it clear that this is most certainly for repetition…
Derby Day 2026 did not represent a sea change – because it felt for most of the day as if we were in the midst of a storm on the high seas. But it was most certainly a step firmly in the right direction, and huge credit to those who have run with the challenges and who will take the positivity forward…
