Martin Dwyer: Derby winner with Sir Percy in 2006Credit: Edward Whitaker
By Scott Burton
Lee Mottershead quoted Derby historian Michael Church as saying definitively that no Derby has finished up the standside rail since at least 1919, but there might be a few lively minds in the weighing room playing around with the idea if the rain really starts to get into the ground.
After all, recent Oaks winners such as Tuesday (2022) and Snowfall (2021) have led home a field that has all come across in search of better ground. A Derby winner aboard Sir Percy in 2006, Martin Dwyer, who today forms part of the BBC 5 Live team at Epsom, has given the Racing Post his insights on the big race, including some very strong views about the prospects of Ruling Court staying the trip.
But Dwyer is sceptical that there would be any advantage in coming standside in the Derby, given the change in the racing line on Saturday compared to Friday.
“The theory is that you always come over to the standside when it’s very soft ground because water runs downhill into the camber. But the Derby is a special race and it’s a big gamble to take if you’re going to do that.I’d be very doubtful, I’ve never seen one.
Sir Percy and Martin Dwyer (right) get up in one of the most thrilling Derby finishes this centuryCredit: Edward Whitaker
“You’d be a brave man and if it doesn’t work, you go and they all stay over. But the main reason is they take the rail away [to its innermost line] and it’s always fresh ground. Once they take the rail in the fresh ground cancels out the slight advantage of coming up the hill to race on quicker ground.
“Two of the races before the Derby are the two Dashes so by the time of the Derby it should still be relatively fresh ground. On Oaks day the rail is out to save the ground [for Derby day] so by the time you come round the turn, it throws you into the middle and you’re more or less there.
“I’ve ridden in an Oaks where we came standside because by the time you turn in, you’re nearly there anyway. When they move the rail in, it’s a long way to go over so you’re better off racing on the fresh ground.”