Many great gambles have been landed in the Derby down the years, from John Bowes’ bet on his horse, West Australian, in 1853 that won the equivalent of more than £5m today, to Raymond Guest’s £500 each-way on Sir Ivor at 100-1, a few months before his victory in June 1968 as the 4-5 favourite. And the 247th running of the Epsom Classic on Saturday could see another spectacular payoff, albeit without a bookie on the other side of the bet.
Twenty months on from his three-day, £24m spending spree on yearlings at Tattersalls’ Book 1 sale in Newmarket in October 2024, the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian will be at Epsom to watch two of his big-money buys, Poker and Ancient Egypt, go to post for the premier Classic.
