Fortune has always favoured the brave, but public opinion can be stinging, particularly in horse racing with so much money on the line.
A ride like Michael Walker's on Saturday is only good when it results in a win. If you're beaten doing something that daring it's unfortunate that you are quickly judged down from hero to zero.
Great riders, rare at any time, don't play it safe. They operate from gut instinct and Michael Walker is one of those. It was a sixth sense that told him Puccini could win if he, unconventionally, let him slide around the field from near last at the 1500m after he missed out on his preferred role of leader through a slightly slow start.
Walker didn't panic, his moves were as calculated as they possibly could have been in such circumstances.
Co-trainer Peter McKay summed it up: "If he didn't win some might have said he did panic."
We've all been asking this for weeks - just how good is Puccini?
Unquestionably, he has got significantly better with each run through the Great Northern Guineas, Waikato Guineas and Avondale Guineas.
Saturday's Derby victory was something more special again. "He went up 10 levels today," said McKay.
Even if that is a stretch, Puccini certainly climbed any number of rungs up the ladder with this performance.
Even allowing for raceday euphoria, Michael Walker's statement: "He could possibly be the best I've ridden," puts the colt in the top drawer.
Ex-Southland jumps jockeys don't cry, but Peter McKay did in the moments after Puccini's victory. He has always said winning a Derby would be his ultimate thrill.
"I've always been known as a 2-year-old trainer - I had to look up the book to see how to do this," he said in a self-deprecating moment.
His son and training partner Jacob was probably born smiling, but the beams that radiated from the 20-year-old in the birdcage should be bottled.
"I'm speechless," he said, but that lasted minutes. He's probably the youngest Derby-winning trainer ever, but his praise is only for Puccini. The pride he has for the colt is something special to watch.
"No one can possibly take anything away from him today," he said, walking the colt around with his long arm draped over the back of his neck.
Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Puccini, abnormally, improves each time he's taken to the races. He is a half brother to Sir Slick, who did exactly the same, although at a slightly later stage of his life.
Remarkably, Sir Slick ended up winning $2 million, but he looked nothing out of the ordinary for the first year of his racing life.
There is talk now of the Derby in Sydney, and why not, and next spring's Cox Plate.
Difficult to put three-quarters of a million dollars on the line and expect a trouble-free Derby.
Kelly Myers copped a three-week (13 racedays) suspension for angling Weregoingtogetcha out soon after turning for home and collecting The Fire Inside, Rising Romance, Colonel Carerra and Lucky Feather.
Even though put off stride in the incident, Rising Romance did not have her winning chance affected. That was determined when she settled well back in the strung-out field.
The sprint Rising Romance mustered after balancing again after the Weregoingtogetcha check was quite remarkable.
"You just can't get that far back and win Derbys," said a disappointed co-trainer Donna Logan. The filly must have made up seven or eight lengths on Puccini, but getting to Puccini and going past are clearly not the same things.
"I'm proud of her and I'm keen to get her to Sydney for the Oaks."
$750,00 TV3 Derby
*The favourite Puccini won, but not as everyone expected.
*A daring ride by Michael Walker landed the money for the glamour colt.
*It's entirely possible we still don't know exactly how good Puccini is.
