Racing: Derby quinella to Gosden

Frankie Dettori celebrates winning the Derby aboard Golden Horn at Epsom on Sunday. Photo / AP

John Gosden did so little wrong in Sunday's Investec Derby that the owners of his runner-up appeared just as delighted as those of the winner.

Arguably now Britain's most powerful trainer, although he has been champion just once so far, the 64-year-old pulled off the first one-two for a stable in the Epsom classic since High Chaparral beat Hawk Wing for Aidan O'Brien back in 2003.

It came in stark contrast to Saturday's Oaks, when one of his runners was stuck with nowhere to go and another nearly knocked over, with the eminently quotable Gosden looking in need of a minute or two to compose himself.

The pressure continued on a man whose high-achieving CV contains a degree from Cambridge and spells learning the art of racehorse training from two titans in Sir Noel Murless and Vincent O'Brien.

He had been worried about the drying ground for Jack Hobbs and had not confirmed the eventual second would be participating until a couple of hours beforehand.

Sheikh Mohammed, who bought a share in that colt from Gosden's wife Rachel Hood and several friends, mingled in the paddock along with the Queen before the start of the race, and it proved a worthwhile judgement as he had every chance but eventually could not quite contain Golden Horn.

John Ferguson, the Sheikh's racing adviser, said that they were "thrilled to bits".

He added: "We left the decision to run or not to John and to run like that at Epsom was a fantastic achievement."

Gosden had been in a similar position back in 1995 when beaten by a horse owned by the Sheikh's nephew.

"I was watching the rerun of Lammtarra's victory and I thought we'd won with Frankie [Dettori] on Tamure and Cash [Asmussen] on Presenting," he said. "They were one-two with 40 yards to run but they were second and third so I don't take anything for granted until they pass the winning post."

The bookmakers had kept conspicuously quiet after the Oaks, when 50-1 chance Qualify would have been a pleasant surprise.

The PR machines started whirring after a well-backed 13-8 chance ridden by Dettori and the broad consensus was that industry losses would be around 10 million ($21.7 million).

David Williams from Ladbrokes believed the result was "every bit as bad a Derby Day result" as when Dettori had won on Authorized, while Coral's David Stevens added that "when a favourite wins a race it's bad news for the bookies, when that race is the biggest race of the season it's really bad news, and when that winner is ridden by a household name like Frankie Dettori, it's terrible news".

It was easier to sympathise with the little-known Irish trainer Ken Condon and his owner Robert Ng. Like Anthony Oppenheimer with Golden Horn, Ng had supplemented Success Days for 75,000 but the grey was never dangerous and finished last of the 12 runners.

"It was just the ground - he never enjoyed it," rued his dejected jockey Shane Foley.Telegraph Group