Racing: Just after 4.20 at Epsom this afternoon all the trials, all the talking and all the speculation shall count for nothing as racing's most important race will have uncovered one real deal and 13 sets of excuses.
The good news is that our brief experiences of Gypsy King to date suggests that excuses aren't his style.
Much of the attention in the build-up to the Vodafone Derby has been on which of Aidan O'Brien's four runners would Kieren Fallon eventually decide to ride. In many ways it was understandable, if slightly bewildering.
Fallon after all is trying to become the first since the legendary Steve Donoghue to win the Derby three years running. Then the almost annual frenzy over what O'Brien will eventually decide to take to Epsom had to be factored in. Back to back victories with Galileo (2001) and High Chaparral (2002) for the Master of Ballydoyle make that pretty understandable too.
But ever since Gypsy King's astonishing success at Chester last month, can there have been any real doubt about what colt Fallon was going to plump for? Sometimes a performance just grabs the eye so hard it won't let go and the memory of that Dee Stakes victory still has a firm old grip.
O'Brien sent Gypsy King to Chester not expecting to win. That conviction was no doubt reinforced with a desperately slow start, an awkward bunny hop passing the stands and a hopeless last position for the first half of the race.
As if that wasn't enough there was even a dramatic drift to the right that left Gyspy King under the stands rails and the race apparently lost. Yet he still won.
The sceptics immediately pointed to the waywardness and the peculiarity of what they'd seen when the real eye-popper was how Gypsy King won at all. It was an exhibition of sheer raw talent and significantly the vibe from Ballydoyle since is that that raw talent has been honing along very nicely indeed thank you.
The case against Gypsy King is that he is one of four O'Brien horses and the old cliché goes that if you have a bunch of Classic contenders then you don't really have any at all.
Which presumably means that O'Brien might have thought both High Chaparral and Hawk Wing were a couple of scrubbers in 2002 and could even have brought Rock Of Gibraltar and Landseer along just in case! Michael Kinane's presence is an undoubted boost to Oratorio, but the nag remains that he was never travelling in the Irish Guineas behind Dubawi and Epsom is no place for a horse that doesn't help his rider.
Grand Central and Almighty haven't exactly looked free-wheeling types either and it's the fifth Irish-trained runner, David Wachman's Fracas, that has impressed with his attitude and class in three starts. Fracas looks a good each-way option, but maybe one or two others will be too good.
Motivator and Dubawi are the most obvious candidates for that from the home team, but there are bookmakers out there who are salivating at the thought of taking these two on. It's hard to blame them either.
Dubawi has a desperate Frankie Dettori on his back and a quirk in his head that keeps taking him to the left or the right but rarely straight when coming under pressure. Epsom is no place for that and there is also a very real stamina doubt about a horse with his sort of natural pace.
Motivator is another who has wandered under pressure and maybe only Sea Bird has won the Derby without having to sweat. Motivator is good, but he ain't that good.
At current prices he is lousy value, especially since, along with Dubawi, quick ground will be a real issue.
Instead, there could be real each-way value with the French raider Walk In The Park. John Hammond has proven with Montjeu and Suave Dancer that he is a top man in the top races and the presence alone of this colt looks significant.
Walk In The Park certainly looks to provide a classier each-way option than the likes of The Geezer and Kong. But as for winning it, the real deal looks to be Gypsy King.
Selections
1. Gypsy King
2. Walk In The Park
3. Fracas
