Derby again lives up to the expectation of history - and Epsom as a training centre has an opportunity to do the same

So the 245th Derby wasn't the damp squib some had been predicting. In fact City Of Troy, Ambiente Friendly and Los Angeles, who filled the first three places on Saturday, all emerged with their reputations significantly enhanced and will surely have a big say in the middle-distance races that matter between now and the end of the season.

In many ways the Classics are hostage to fortune. Each season they will only ever be as strong as the three-year-olds of that generation, but that is also what makes them so unique and special. 

In another year Ambiente Friendly might have won the Derby almost on the bridle, but he happens to have been foaled in the same year as a horse Aidan O'Brien believes is the best he has trained. Them's the breaks.