Derby will be one-derful

13 April 2012

This year's Vodafone Derby will be extraordinary. It has to be, not just because it's the best field in ages, but because the year ends in '1'. Like Tottenham Hotspur, Epsom tends to create something a bit special every decade and this is the year. In 1951, a 15-year-old called Lester Piggott had his first ride in the Derby on Zucchero, who finished 13th. Three years later he clocked up the first of a record nine victories.

In 1961, the longest-priced winner since the war, Psidium at 66-1, streaked home to general bewilderment and shock. He never raced again.

Ten years later it was rather more predictable when the 100-30 favourite Mill Reef won by two lengths before going on to take the King George and the Arc.

He was one of the best Derby winners of all time, although I have to confess to being biased given that he was trained by my father and 1971 was the year I was born. I can't pretend I remember much about it but the video has been worn out.

In 1981, the one horse whose legend stretches beyond racing, streaked to a record 10-length success. Shergar may not have been the best Derby winner ever, but the manner in which he won, the fact he had the choirboy-featured Walter Swinburn on his back and, tragically, his kidnapping by the IRA during his first year at stud, made him the most famous Flat racehorse of modern time.

Ten years ago, the flame-coloured Generous, who had finished fourth in the 2000 Guineas, won the Derby by an impressive five lengths.

He went on to win the Irish Derby and King George and has a statue in his honour outside the new paddock at Epsom.

So what will be the wonder horse this year, or at least the wonder story?

Well, Golan could just be freakishly outstanding. The manner in which he won the Sagitta 2000 Guineas defied belief.

For a horse to come from as far back as he did, accelerating at the point in the race when it is hardest for a horse to make ground, and maintaining that speed to cut down the entire field, was simply exceptional.

He is such a laid-back individual that he yawns before going out on the gallops in the morning and sometimes halfway through the gallop as well.

That is why his price has drifted in recent days but come the moment of the race, his temperament will work in his favour.

His biggest challenge could come from his own stablemate, Dilshaan. He is another cool customer who will not let the preliminaries upset him, and with proven stamina on his side he has a great chance of giving Johnny Murtagh back-to-back Derby wins.

Sir Michael Stoute, arguably the most successful international trainer ever based in the UK, has an enviable team with Golan and Dilshaan and is looking to add to the victories of Shergar and Sharistani in the most prestigious Flat race.

On a personal note, I will be trying to adopt something of Golan's relaxed manner. The BBC is back at Epsom for the first time since 1979 and the butterflies have been fluttering around in my stomach since last weekend.

After presenting from the Sydney Olympics and being part of the presentation team for Sports Personality of the Year, the one event I wanted to front more than any other was the Derby.

I cannot believe that, in such a short space of time, I have been given the chance to do just that. Along with Sue Barker, Willie Carson, Jim McGrath and the rest of the team, we will produce one of the biggest outside broadcasts of the year.

I was at Epsom on Tuesday and again yesterday and could feel the buzz starting to build.

The most nerve-wracking element for me is that I will fill my head with so many facts and figures that I get completely confused and forget the name of the winner!

Apart from the homework, there is the superficial problem of deciding what to wear.

I would be happier presenting in jeans and a sweatshirt but as with Royal Ascot, fashion is nearly as important on Derby Day as the sport.

Knowing that viewers tend to be harsher judges of female presenters doesn't help and it is an annual nightmare to find something that is smart, colourful, not too conservative but not so flash that it distracts people from what is being said. You may think it's irrelevant, but sadly it's not.

With the right weather, clothes that stay on and a brain that will hopefully not explode when the opening titles start tomorrow, it promises to be the most exciting two days' work I have ever had.

If I get the chance, I'll even have a few quid on a Golan-Dilshaan forecast, just to make things more interesting.

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