This is not racing versus the woke - the sport needs new friends not new enemies

Saturday was a success, certainly when judged on what became the key metric, but there is no room for complacency.

A good measure of the feelings going into the 244th Derby was that the greatest imperative was that we got a Derby. In the end, despite malicious threats, and thanks to a smart security operation, we did indeed see a Derby, with Auguste Rodin crowned a most worthy winner of the Classic's first staging under the Betfred banner. 

Ahead of proceedings, the Jockey Club had developed contingency plans to be activated in the event that the race could not be staged on Saturday. Cometh the hour, the work carried out by Epsom's owners and Surrey Police was so effective that the 14 runners exited the stalls less than three minutes late. Given some of the scenarios that had been discussed in the build-up to Britain's most valuable race, that really does represent a mighty achievement.