Bookies dream of raking in all the Derby stakes after White Birch stuns rival hopefuls

When the rank outsider wins a race like the Ballysax, it is generally because they gave the pacemaker too much rope and he just kept going. That's how it was 20 years ago when Balestrini scored at 33-1 under Tom Queally, with Alamshar a nearest-finish second and the vaunted Alberto Giacometti five lengths behind the horse who was supposed to be setting it up for him. 

But it was different on Sunday, when White Birch became the biggest shock winner since Balestrini, being returned at 22-1. He let everything else get first run, then passed them in the straight despite interference caused by Alexandroupolis trying to veer into the path of the late challengers.

What to make of that? The Ballysax is supposed to help clarify the Derby picture, but the grey's progress up the home straight was accompanied by the sound of applecarts being overturned and cats landing amidst pigeons. As of this moment, he holds no entries for anything, though assistant trainer George Murphy seemed to think the money to add him to the Epsom Classic could be scraped together somehow.