Flashy chestnuts and pre-race court proceedings - Chris Cook on his five favourite Derbys

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So much history in horse racing and we hardly ever use it, so let's start off this Derby week by trying to pick some favourite Derbys from years gone by. This is a very personal list, which at least has the benefit that I can't be proved to have made terrible choices. 

I'm not claiming these were the best Derbys of my lifetime, or that the winners were exceptionally talented. These are the ones which mean most to me, which provoke the most memories and, although I can't match the experience that some of you have accrued over the decades, I feel that I've been kicking around long enough to make a choice. Maybe I'll do a redraft in 20 years. 

Just to reassure you, I haven't just made a list of the winners I flukily backed. In particular, I didn't have a penny on the fifth winner in this list and I still wouldn't back him if they ran the race again tomorrow. 

I've been watching Derbys since 1983. This seems a bit late because I would have called myself a fan of racing from 1981. I've no idea how I missed Golden Fleece's moment of glory the following year but it completely passed me by. These things happen when you've got a busy primary school schedule and are trying to learn the descant recorder. 

From Shahrastani to Quest For Fame, I was dependent on the video recorder doing what it was supposed to do - not something you could take for granted in the 1980s. Shocking as it must seem to the kids of today, if you missed something on the telly in those days, it stayed missed and you'd never see it unless those nice folk at Broadcasting House deigned to show it again. 

But then came the summer when school was finally over and I could not just watch the Derby as it happened but actually bet on it. Incredibly, I got the winner (though I backed at least two runners). So unsurprisingly top of the list is: 

1. Generous

This was one of those years when punters couldn't make up their minds. Corrupt (the Lingfield winner) and Toulon (Chester Vase) were joint-favourites. 

Mystiko, the Guineas winner, was 5-1. Hector Protector, unbeaten in eight starts, brought some Gallic glamour to proceedings at 6-1 ... but he was a Morny winner and - you'll never believe it - he failed to stay 1m4f. 

A horse with Generous's credentials would, I think, be more popular in the betting these days. Runner-up in the Coventry, he won the Dewhurst and was a staying-on fourth in the Guineas. His pedigree suggested he wanted middle-distances and the Derby was his first chance to prove that. Even so, he started at 9-1. 

Generous: won the 1991 Derby at Epsom for Paul ColeCredit: Mark Cranham

Meanwhile, I liked him because he was a flashy chestnut who sometimes raced prominently, which was very much my type in those days - Floyd, Mr Frisk, Young Hustler and others I've forgotten. 

It was an incredibly easy race to watch if you fancied Generous. Alan Munro always had him in the right place. Even teenage me could be sure of that, because he was right next to Lester Piggott for the first half-mile.

In the straight, he steered him out from behind the leaders, pushed the button and the race was over. It was the template of what you dream of when you back a horse in the Derby. No horse has ever looked bonnier than Generous as he loped towards the pull-up zone with his ears pricked, well aware of having done something clever.

2. High-Rise

This was my first time at Epsom, being intoxicated by that atmosphere and realising the track looks even madder in the flesh than it does on the telly. No, I didn't get the winner although, with the full benefit of hindsight, he was overpriced at 20-1 given that he was an unbeaten winner of the Lingfield trial. 

High-Rise had been ridden at Lingfield by Frankie Dettori, but at Epsom the Italian was claimed for the Godolphin-owned favourite. Weirdly enough, that was Cape Verdi, a filly, sent off at just 11-4. 

High-Rise: winner of the 1998 Derby from City Honours and Border ArrowCredit: Dan Abraham

She was a Lowther winner who had absolutely hacked up in the 1,000 Guineas. With her pedigree suggesting she'd improve for at least another couple of furlongs, punters saw nothing but potential. But she had a tough run through the race, failed to stay and finished ninth.

John Reid gave a fine, ground-saving ride to City Honours. Olivier Peslier left it somewhat late to launch High-Rise up the middle of the track and they got there with about two strides to spare. Genius or brinksmanship? You decide.

3. New Approach

My new approach in 2008 was to watch the Derby from the Hill, which is where God intended us to watch races at Epsom. It was great fun, until the big race. 

I'd got over my chestnut obsession and was able to take an objective view of Jim Bolger's star. This enabled me to see clearly that he was a few oats short of a nosebag, would fail to settle and had no chance of seeing out the trip. So I layed him for a place. 

It was just too hard to choose between Casual Conquest, Tartan Bearer and a couple of others. So I gave thanks for the (still fairly new) exchange experience and simply bet against the fancied runner who couldn't possibly win. 

It was very satisfying to see him frothing and pulling Kevin Manning's arms out as the field passed me after about six furlongs. Imagine my surprise in the following minute as I observed the speck of green continuing to improve its position through the field to the point where - horrors - they appeared to be in front.

It would have been a great day if I'd just stuck to the "flashy chestnuts" system that worked so well in the early 90s.

4. Pour Moi

There was so much drama in this Derby, starting at the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand, where there was an actual court case to decide the question of which horse Kieren Fallon should ride. Fallon had signed a contract early that year to ride Native Khan when asked to do so, but preferred to ride Recital in the Epsom race; Native Khan's owners sought an injunction preventing him from riding against them in the Derby. 

On the day before, a judge decided against granting an injunction. He reasoned: "The owners of Recital, who for all I know are innocent victims in this, would have difficulty getting a substitute jockey at such a late stage, certainly one of Fallon's stature. I also have in mind that the betting public to date have placed wagers in the belief that Recital would be partnered by Kieren Fallon." 

Anyway, an appeal was heard that same afternoon and then, just to ratchet up the drama, reporters were told to return at 9am on the Saturday morning to hear the final verdict. Sensationally, the injunction was granted, ruling Fallon out of the race. "There is nothing special about the world of racing that entitles the major players to act in flagrant breach of contract," said Lord Justice Jackson. 

Pour Moi: winner of the 2011 Derby under Mickael BarzalonaCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

I hammered out a report as quick as I could, then wandered round the corner to Victoria to get a train to the races. For a racing fan who'd done a law degree, it was as gripping a day as I could hope for. 

Native Khan finished fifth under Johnny Murtagh, while Pat Smullen was two lengths behind on Recital, so the court proceedings proved academic - unless you believe Fallon could have made the necessary difference to either horse.

Pour Moi won, with Mickael Barzalona standing up in his stirrups to celebrate before his mount was in front. I dare say he tells it differently but it looked a lot like he just didn't see Treasure Beach on the rail and thought he had the race won when he passed Carlton House.

5. Wings Of Eagles

It would be a bit mad not to have an Aidan O'Brien-trained winner on this list but my options are limited by circumstance. I didn't get to see Galileo because the traffic was so appalling for so long that I gave up and watched it at home. A year later, High Chaparral was a wholly admirable winner but lovely Coshocton took a fatal fall right in front of me, and there's no forgetting that. 

So it had better be Wings Of Eagles, a shock winner at 40-1 after looking hard to organise when second in the Chester Vase. I was on the second and third, so frankly I could have done with Aidan leaving him at home, but it's a result that shows why even his back-up runners are worth your respect. 

Padraig Beggy was catapulted into the headlines. He won the Irish Derby on a 33-1 shot two years later, only to disappear from the weighing room two years after that.

I remember how O'Brien seemed stunned by the outcome but rallied enough to praise Beggy as "a world-class rider". This is the result that shows even those who know more than anyone still can't be sure what's going to happen when the stalls open for the Derby.

Read these next:

What's on this week: Derby and Oaks the brilliant headline acts after Royal Ascot fields are whittled down 

Sprinting division looks wide open and Harry Skelton is a good bet for the title - three things we learned this week 

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The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.