Keeping it in the Family

In 1779 two old duffers were arguing over who had the fastest horse. Instead of entering them into one of the established races at the Oaks Stakes, they decided only a completely new one would do. The Earl of Derby, one of the said duffers, dipped a hand into his rather large wallet and sponsored a new fixture on the Oaks Stakes racecard and rather graciously named it after himself. Rather irritatingly for him, it turned out his chum Charles Bunbury had the fastest horse - Diomed picked up the first ever Derby and a purse of over £1,000. To this day it's still the richest race on the UK calendar.

Here's me and Grandad arguing about which horse might win this year.

He's a bit of an expert, you see, and it's nice he's keen to pass on his knowledge.

Today we all met at The Derby Arms opposite Epsom. It was my first trip to a racecourse, so rather fitting that I got to tread the hallowed turf where the Blue Ribband event of British racing is held every June.

Nanna and Grandad now live close by for a while - a little sojourn in Carshalton between their stint in Cardiff and vacance in Rome. It's nice having them nearby. After a cuddle with Nanna, we then walked back across the racecourse and watched some grown men play with model planes. After one chap's helicopter exploded at 20 feet we jumped in the car and tootled home.

One day I shall have a real one that'll drop me off on Derby Day.

AMK