ELITISM WILL BE THE DEATH OF THE SPORT, KEEP THUNDERING ON & STILL PIERRE BONNARD FOR ME.

In his banter with David Jennings in the Racing Post this morning, Johnney Dineen suggests, as his gripe of the week, that the Epsom Derby should be further holed below the water-line by excluding outsiders as the Epsom Derby 'should be a quality-based event and not cater for mediocrity.' He is wrong. There is no place in our sport for elitism and that is exactly what J.D. is batting for in wanting to exclude everyone bar the very top echelon from dreaming of winning the Blue Riband of our sport.

He may have a point in wanting the best horses to have no excuse for not winning, for wanting every horse to have a fair shot at glory but who is to say, for example, that Benvenuto Cellini will not fall and splutter down the hill and then run wide round Tattenham Corner or that Item will not roll around on the camber in the straight and barge into a 100/1 chance coming with a wet sail and looking like the likely winner.

Whether you accept it or not, Coolmore represent a the elite few, as do Juddmonte, Godolphin and others. The elite have the money to buy pedigrees, to have hundreds of broodmares, to not have to worry about six-figure stallion fees and are rarely not represented in classic races in Britain, Ireland, Fance and elsewhere on the globe. I have no criticism of them; without them our racing would be much the poorer. But it should not be made easier for them to scoop up the big prizes by excluding ordinary Joes with ambition and dreams from competing against them.

Coolmore have the power this afternoon to run three of their four horses side by side down the hill, only in an orchestrated moment part to allow Ryan Moore easy passage to the winning line, thereby making it difficult for riders on other fancied horses to follow Ryan through. I am not suggesting for a moment that will be their plan. What I am saying is that the Epsom Derby is a horse race the same as any other horse race, with possibly the same number of outsiders taking part. 100/1 shots are where what remains of the romance of our sport lies. It is all part and parcel of the intrigue. An 11-runner Epsom Derby holds no magic for the non-attending public. I contend the Derby field should provide enough runners for office sweepstakes as that in itself brings the Epsom Derby into the lives of people who ordinarily have no interest in the sport. To me, an enthusiast of the sport for over 60-years, the sport is enhanced by jeopardy and I abhor the slide towards the sanitisation of our sport. This sport is a potential health risk to the jockey, as it is to the jockey and groom; why should the punter have his betting made easier for them by excluding outsiders from some pinhooked races like the Epsom Derby?

Thundering On looks gorgeous, doesn't she? A real good one. Top class. And a beautiful, classy ride from D.B.M. (I am not going to chance my arm with his name) Even someone like me who sees 'blind' - I am not blind, just not very observant - could see she was the winner from a long way out.

The less said about K Sarra the better. On the other hand, what a brilliant tipster Adele Mulrennen is turning out to be. She is putting Jason Weaver in his place on a regular basis.

I hope for my tipping sake that Epsom receive the forecasted rain as it canl only improve the chances of Pierre Bonnard.