‘It was heartbreaking. That should have been our day’ - Dancing Brave and the Derby wounds that never healed

The saying holds that the best horse invariably wins the Derby. No matter how unlucky the runner-up might have appeared, the Derby winner will confirm his superiority as the season unfolds.

Or not, as the case may be.

Whoever coined the adage plainly did so before the 1986 Derby. What unfolded on the famous downs 40 years ago left onlookers in a state of shock, which is why it entered the annals as one of the most controversial since the great race was inaugurated in 1780.