Which of these Derby outsiders priced at 20-1, 50-1, 66-1 and 150-1 tickles your fancy?

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You think you know the Derby picture by this stage. Everyone still likes The Lion In Winter, or there's his stablemate Delacroix, or the Guineas winner Ruling Court, or that one who caused a shock in the Dante, Pride Of Arras. Most folk are satisfied those are the ones to focus on, while the rest are making up the numbers and will probably wander elsewhere in search of easier pickings.

The mission I've set myself is to make you think there's an outsider worth backing in this Classic. In recent weeks, I've worried that this Derby might lack depth but, having taken time to rummage through some credentials, I'm reassured to find a few who could get involved at big prices.

Here's four of them, building towards the most plausible. Surely there's something here to appeal to every taste . . .

4 Lazy Griff

Odds: 66-1

Second place in the Chester Vase is a perfectly fine prep for a Derby. Wings Of Eagles proved that, somehow coping with Epsom despite having looked like a helicopter in trouble around Chester's final bend.

Lazy Griff hit the front in the final furlong of this year's Vase but got run out of it close home. It was an excellent effort, especially as trainer Charlie Johnston said he'd missed work the previous week.

He ran way above his odds of 25-1. Johnston said he was only 80 per cent fit.Ground is an issue.

Lazy Griff (left): chased home Lambourn in the Chester VaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The Derby is the plan but we'll need some rain," is the word from Middleham Park Racing. Their syndicate members would like nothing better than a Derby runner, so he'll be given every chance to go there. And, because we live in Britain, you can't rule out the kind of downpour next week that would make Epsom suitable for him.

After that, it's just a question of how much improvement he can find. He's a prominent racer who should stay the trip, giving him every chance of outrunning his odds again.

3 Al Wasl Storm

Odds: 150-1

Owner form is not a big thing in my life but it can sometimes be relevant, as in the case of Ahmad Al Shaikh and the Derby. He had Khalifa Sat (50-1) finish second in 2020 and Hoo Ya Mal (150-1) also second two years later. Last year, in a field of 16, he had the fourth and fifth at 25-1 and 50-1.

It's an impressive record, though perhaps he experiences it as one frustration after another. Anyway, he seems adept at getting his hands on the right material and reportedly he has long fancied Al Wasl Storm's chance of making the line-up.

Owen Burrows: trainer of Al Wasl StormCredit: Edward Whitaker

The grey didn't make it to the track until mid-April, so he's had a lot of learning compressed into three runs since then. Still, he showed a likeable attitude when stretching clear to win a maiden at Chester last month and there should be plenty more to come.

Clearly, Owen Burrows had a better Derby chance with Gethin, who sadly met with a setback. On racecourse achievement, Al Wasl Storm has tonnes to prove. But his style of racing gives him a chance to exceed low expectations.

2 Puppet Master

Odds: 50-1

Any list of interesting Derby outsiders must have an Aidan O'Brien runner in the mix, considering the Ballydoyle genius has won the race with 40-1 and 25-1 shots in the last eight years. Dominant trainers do sometimes win top-class races with their third or fourth-string runners (see Poniros, Triumph Hurdle) but most punters hate to back them; if the stable jockey doesn't want to ride 'em, that's the end of the discussion in the eyes of many.

Puppet Master won the Lingfield Derby Trial, which has produced two of the last six Derby winners. He seemed to cope fine with the track's undulations and stayed on strongly to the line. 

Puppet Master: was successful at Lingfield this monthCredit: Edward Whitaker

He might well end up being the Ballydoyle pacesetter, another reason for punters to write him off. But Serpentine led all the way, while At First Sight was second at 100-1 after trying to make all. 

1 Stanhope Gardens

Odds: 20-1

Ralph Beckett had the 1-2 in the old Predominate at Goodwood on Saturday but they won't be going to Epsom. Instead, the Arc-winning trainer quite fancies a tilt with this chestnut, who beat two rivals that evening at Salisbury.

It was a race created at the trainer's suggestion specifically to start off this horse's year and hopefully avoid him having too hard a time just a fortnight before the Derby. It appears to have worked like a dream, though the horse didn't have to match his juvenile form in order to win handily.

Without going near the biggest races, he bumped into some major talents last year, chasing home subsequent Guineas hero Ruling Court on his debut. After breaking his duck at Beverley, he was just a neck behind Delacroix in the Autumn Stakes.

Delacroix (right) beat Stanhope Gardens in the Autumn Stakes last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

Stanhope Gardens was last off the bridle that day and it rather looked as though Delacroix needed the help of being on the stands' rail in order to beat him. Delacroix has obviously proved himself this year by winning a couple of well-established trials, while Stanhhope Gardens has basically had a racecourse gallop.

Still, the fact that Beckett would like to run him is encouraging, considering the trainer already has the Dante winner, Pride Of Arras, in the Epsom race. "If he's okay over the next ten days, then we'll make a decision on whether to confirm him for the Derby," Beckett said on Sunday. "The intention is to do so because we think he'll be suited by it." 

Delacroix is 7-2. Should the horse that nearly beat him be five times the price?

Betfred Derby, Epsom June 7
Betfred: 5-2 The Lion In Winter, 7-2 Delacroix, 4 Pride Of Arras, Ruling Court, 10 Damysus, 16 Lambourn, 20 Stanhope Gardens, 25 Wimbledon Hawkeye, 33 bar.

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