The turf
Sue Ellen to the rescue
Robin Oakley
Last year the Derby clashed with the European Cup. This year, those seeking to restore the premier Classic to its former glory have been faced by the handicap of an odds-on favourite, with nobody giving anything else in the race much chance of beating the 2,000 Guineas winner Entrepreneur. Tote spokesman Rob Hart- nett has suggested that somebody might call in a priest to administer the last rites to the betting market in advance of this week's race. But one person undeterred is the elegant new driving force behind the efforts to bring the crowds back to Epsom and the glory back to the race itself. Sue Ellen, who has taken over since last year's race as managing director of United Racecourses, is an Epsom girl. Wisely she says, 'There is no such thing as an Epsom certainty.' The undulating track with its uphill start, the pell-mell rush down to Tat- tenham Corner and the slanted rise in the finishing straight provide a unique test of horse and rider. They need agility in nego- tiating the gradients, speed to be up with the pace and keep clear of trouble, and stamina up that lung-bursting finishing stretch. Also required is the big-match tem- perament to handle the crowds. Until you have run a horse at Epsom you just do not know whether he will be found wanting in one or more of those departments, and so Entrepreneur is not home and hosed yet. Nor would Sue Ellen be too worried if the favourite were to win in the style of a true champion. For there is nothing like the sight of sheer quality to create that 'I was there' feeling which is the other precious assets of our heritage sporting events.
The gloom about the Derby in recent years has been hopelessly overdone. We no longer live in a society where half of Lon- don is going to close down for the day for 300,000 to flock to the Epsom Downs. But, if Sue Ellen is realistic enough to concede the race has lost a little of its sparkle and crowd-pulling power, she is quick to come back when I contrast its public appeal with the Grand National, an event which still has the ignorant and informed alike swap- ping their selections at the supermarket tills. A dozen years ago, she reminds me, the National, too, was in decline, Aintree itself in receivership. There are problems in achieving the same excitement about the Derby. At Aintree the equine stars have been around for several seasons. The Derby for the past two years has been won by horses which have not run before in the same season and which were off to stud at the end of their three-year-old careers. Arab-owned contestants, which tend to dominate the top flat races these days, do not come with the added advantage of trip off-the-tongue names nor fashion-con- scious owners' wives generating additional gossip column publicity.
But Sue Ellen and her Epsom team are building back the Derby at different levels. With £1 million-plus in prize money, it is the richest race in Europe. Changes to the entry arrangements have ensured that, from next year, late developers will be able to get into the race.
They are making sure that the ground is good. Since my labrador, making her own small contribution to the preparation of the course, has been up to her shoulders in its lush green grass, I can testify to Sue Ellen's assertion that the well-watered ground is 'looking brilliant'. And they have ensured that the true racing enthusiasts are lured by the quality of the racing over two days, with the Oaks and the Coronation Cup, starring Singspiel, both on Friday.
Sue Ellen is conscious that Epsom spans a wide social appeal, from the carefully hat-pinned royal party to the exuberantly under-dressed crowd on the hill. And there is, this year, a real effort as she puts it to 'give the hill back to the people', with a number of enclosures taken down, an ale- brewing competition, brewers drays' parades and a radio station on the course. I welcome such moves. The Derby is not a corporate event, it is the people's race. And that, for my money, and, I suspect, for Sue Ellen's, is why it should stay on a Sat- urday and not revert to being the corporate skivers' day off (sorry, cultivation of the client base) on a Wednesday.
I am not quite so sure though about the plans for a Welsh male voice choir to lead community singing, starting with 'Land of Hope and Glory', from the two-furlong pole. It may work at the Kentucky Derby, but, from what I have heard around the Epsom pubs, mass karaoke is not our forte. As for the race itself, this column has a reputation to maintain. My three selections last year finished first, second and fourth. This time, unadventurously, I give you Entrepreneur, Silver Patriarch and Fahris for the 1-2-3. You won't go home rich from the big race. But at least it would stop the bookies singing.
Robin Oakley is political editor of the BBC.
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