EPSOM DERBY number 218 will start at the bottom of this famous old course at
3.45 this afternoon with the promise that a colt to rank with any in the history of the great race could emerge two and a half minutes later.
Entrepreneur is the latest unsuspecting thoroughbred to be saddled with the bloated expectations of a sport hungry for heroes and will be sent off a scaldingly hot, odds on favourite to add the Derby to the 2,000 Guineas he won at Newmarket last month.
Such is the level of confidence in a colt having only his fifth race that joint owner Michael Tabor is already contemplating completing the classic triple crown in September's St Leger, a feat last achieved by the legendary Nijinksy.
Before that, though, there is the little matter of dealing with 13 opponents who will give no favours around a track as original as the legends it has spawned. If Entrepreneur can carry Michael Kinane around its unique twists and turns in the style expected it will make the 660,000 guineas that Tabor and Coolmore St Lid supremo John Magnier shelved out to buy him as a yearling look like chickenfeed.
Hype and the no mean achievement of winning the Guineas have put Entrepreneur on a pedestal, but today he has to run like never before and run further.
A multitude of factors mean that for the ordinary punter, Entrepreneur is practically unbackable. The general consensus is that he is the best horse in the race, but of the five horses to have started at odds on in the Derby since the war, only two, Sir Ivor and Shergar, won.
Against a comparatively weak field, Entrepreneur could conceivably win this Derby on the bridle, but only the brave, or reckless, will buy money at odds on about him definitely handling the track avoiding the interference through the race that is almost endemic to Epsom, and having sufficient stamina to enable him to use his acceleration at the finish.
In such circumstances, betting without the favourite could be come a thriving cottage industry. Kinane's analysis of these big races is rarely off the mark and he believes the danger to Entrepreneur is Pat Eddery's mount Silver Patriarch. A remorseless galloper who easily won the Lingfield Derby Trial, his ability to last out this trip is certain, but less so is evidence of the class that the Derby usually demands.
Silver Patriarch and Benny The Dip finished second and third to subsequent French Derby flop Voyagers Quest at Sandown. Benny The Dip subsequently was allowed dominate the Dante Stakes at his own pace, but even that didn't dispel doubts that he may struggle to last the extra journey. It's hardly encouraging either that Olivier Peslier so readily switched to the French hope Cloudings, winner of a poor looking Prix Lupin last month.
Fahris looked a real contender when winning at Newmarket in April, but an interruption to his preparation because of a sinus problem was hardly ideal. After that we enter the realms of the real outsiders, but lurking among them may be a colt that offers each way punters a real interest.
Like Entrepreneur, Musalsal is a son of Sadlers Wells and, like him, is not certain to get the trip. However, it was noticeable how well he was finishing in the Dante Stakes when Michael Hills gave him a less than inspired ride from the back. He has three lengths to make up on Benny The Dip on that form, but in a true run race he has his chance of doing it and yet is available at 40/1 compared to the 7/1 about Benny the Dip.
Ultimately, though, this Derby revolves around Entrepreneur. If he is as good as his shrewd connections think, he will win.
Forecast: 1, Entrepreneur 2 Musalsal; 3 Fahris
