INVESTEC DERBY
Venue: Epsom Date: 6 June Time: 1545 BST
Raceday coverage: Live on BBC One and BBC Sport website from 1315 to 1620, and on BBC Radio 5 Live; Highlights 0035 BBC One.

By Oliver Brett and Cornelius Lysaght

Oliver Brett's verdict: Flat racing's Blue Riband event almost always goes to one of the top two in the betting, so this should be a shoot-out between the unbeaten Fame And Glory and the 2,000 Guineas winner Sea The Stars. With stamina doubts about the latter, FAME AND GLORY is the selection. He would be an emotional winner coming from the Ballydoyle training base, in the week that the legend who established it, Vincent O'Brien, died.

Pinstickers' choice:
1 Fame and Glory 2 Kite Wood 3 Sea The Stars

(Number, form, horse's name, age, weight, jockey, trainer)
Odds are approximate and for information puposes only

1 14-1 AGE OF AQUARIUS 3 9-0
Pat Smullen Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: Bidding to be the first horse in 11 years to convert the Lingfield Derby trial into a win in the big one, this colt is still developing and may be better watched rather than backed, particularly with so many high-class individuals around this year.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Part of the Irish-based Coolmore team who battled to success in last month's Lingfield Derby Trial, beating Montaff. He should stay the 1½m distance well. Has good form with Fame And Glory from last year, which could make his odds on the generous side.
Rating: 6/10 Odds: 25-1

2 21-31 BLACK BEAR ISLAND 3 9-0
Ryan Moore Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: A pleasing performance gave him the Dante Stakes at York, a race which has provided three of the last five Derby winners. He has the breeding (as a brother to 2002 winner High Chapparal), but probably only his trainer's third best entry on paper.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Another of the Coolmore runners who finished late and fast to grab success in the reliable Dante Stakes. Stamina won't be a problem, and pedigree experts like him because his full-brother High Chaparral, also trained by Aidan O'Brien, won this race as well.
Rating: 8/10 Odds: 8-1

3 0121-8 CROWDED HOUSE 3 9-0
Jamie Spencer Brian Meehan
Oliver Brett's verdict: After heading the Derby betting through the winter, he put in a terribly disappointing run in the Dante, when he had only two behind him. The trainer said he "needed" the run, but punters have been less enthusiastic. Still the best English chance on paper.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Said by his trainer Brian Meehan to be back on song after running way below par behind Black Bear Island in the Dante Stakes. He was a top two-year-old in 2008, winning the prestigious Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster. The Dante defeat run saw his odds lengthen dramatically, but it wouldn't be a major surprise to see him bounce back.
Rating: 6/10 Odds: 25-1

4 41-13 DEBUSSY 3 9-0
Jimmy Fortune John Gosden
Oliver Brett's verdict: Supplemented for this race after winning here (1m 2f) in April, but was then put in his place by two Ballydoyle colts in the Chester Vase, and he will have to re-oppose them here on fast ground that he does not enjoy.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Races for last year's winning owner Princess Haya of Jordan. His trainer John Gosden - of Benny The Dip (1997) fame - has said he thinks that the Irish will be hard to keep at bay, but it's important that the home team at least competes. One of just five British-trained runners.
Rating: 4/10 Odds: 50-1

5 11-11 FAME AND GLORY 3 9-0
Seamus Heffernan Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: If there's one negative about this hot property, it's the fact he has never been given a really tough contest. But he defied a five-pound penalty to win Leopardstown's Ballysax Stakes, and was a five-length winner of the Derrinstown. Speed and stamina not in doubt.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: The winner of his four races - all of them on good or softer going. He was considered Coolmore's clear number one player until their number one jockey Johnny Murtagh surprisingly opted for Rip Van Winkle. Will stay and is unquestionably a major contender.
Rating: 9/10 Odds: 7-2

6 312-3 GAN AMHRAS 3 9-0
Kevin Manning Jim Bolger
Oliver Brett's verdict: Ran well enough in the 2,000 Guineas to finish third and his pedigree, his trainer's predictions, and the manner of his performances to date suggest the extra half-mile will play straight into his hands. If there's a negative, it might be the fast ground.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Pronounced 'Gone-r-us' here's another Irish runner, though trained by Jim Bolger, last year's winning trainer. An athletic type of horse, which will suit the twists and turns.
Rating: 8/10 Odds: 7-1

7 312-3 GOLDEN SWORD 3 9-0
Colm O'Donoghue Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: Shock 25-1 winner of the Chester Vase in which he made every yard of the running, beating stablemate Masterofthehorse by two lengths. But this race has produced no Derby winners since the ill-fated Shergar in 1981 and he remains easy to oppose for this.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Coolmore again, and this fellow surprised a few when showing better form to win at Chester. However, he was perhaps flattered by the result.
Rating: 5/10 Odds: 33-1

8 211-5 KITE WOOD 3 9-0
Frankie Dettori Saeed Bin Suroor
Oliver Brett's verdict: It is not hugely encouraging that three of the four colts who finished in front of this one at York have been pulled out of the race. But the leading Godolphin horses are improving after some patchy early season form, and if that's the case, this one has a decent outside chance.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Ran respectably enough in the Dante Stakes, though owner Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin stable in Newmarket is hardly bullish about prospects. Ever popular Dettori, successful in the Epsom Derby at the 15th time attempt on Authorized (2007), will have many followers in the race, but Kite Wood may well be up against it.
Rating: 6/10 Odds: 25-1

9 2130-2 MASTEROFTHEHORSE 3 9-0
Richard Hughes Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: Johnny Murtagh held him up and then gave him far too much to do when this one finished second at Chester behind Golden Sword. On a very different course, with a more sympathetic ride, there is no reason to suppose he can't go close.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Seen as batting down the order for Coolmore though he can be forgiven the disappointment of second place at Chester - after which his jockey received plenty of stick. Has some decent form from last year when third behind Sea The Stars.
Rating: 7/10 Odds: 11-1

10 21-2 MONTAFF 3 9-0
Richard Hills Mick Channon
Oliver Brett's verdict: Some observers felt he was lucky to finish so close to the winner Age of Aquarius in the Lingfield trial. If they are right, Montaff will have little chance at Epsom - but it is not unheard of for horses at his sort of price to get into the frame.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Quite inexperienced but that didn't seem to bother him at Lingfield. It would be no surprise at all to see this colt showing up well en route to a good prize at some stage this year. Although from a British stable, he was sired by a stallion belonging to Coolmore's vast thoroughbred breeding operation.
Rating: 4/10 Odds: 40-1

11 117-4 RIP VAN WINKLE 3 9-0
Johnny Murtagh Aidan O'Brien
Oliver Brett's verdict: Had his preparation for the 2,000 Guineas, where he finished fourth, held up by a bruised foot. But he confounded expectations to stay on really well there, and almost came third. Sure to stay further, but it's not certain he can get the whole extra half mile.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: Named after a US short story, a similar number of words must have been written about the surprise decision by famously shrewd Murtagh to take the ride on this Coolmore horse. An athletic sort, who should cope well with all of the potential pitfalls of the Epsom track, his jockey presumably thinks he does have the necessary stamin for this. Big chance.
Rating: 8/10 Odds: 4-1

12 411-1 SEA THE STARS 3 9-0
Mick Kinane John Oxx
Oliver Brett's verdict: Without a doubt, the most likely colt to beat the O'Brien sextet, and if he did so would be the first to land the Guineas-Derby double since Nashwan in 1989. The jockey insists he will get the trip, but the colt's highly-rated trainer has voiced some doubts.
Cornelius Lysaght's verdict: When pedigree experts look at Sea The Stars' breeding credentials, they salivate: he's a half-brother to the 2001 winner Galileo, and their mother Urban Sea won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe of 1993. Kinane, looking for his third Epsom Derby winner after Commander In Chief and Galileo, seems more confident. Seems to have stacks going for him, and if his stamina lasts out, they might well not see where he went.
Rating: 8/10 Odds: 3-1

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