When I was 14 my mum took me to Camber Sands Pontins for the week. And on the Wednesday we joined a coach trip to the Derby, my first day at the races, and where it all began for me.
Today, we are going back to Camber Sands. Not Pontins thankfully, but to stay in a friend's holiday home by the sea. This is a freebie in thanks for giving her the 1st, 3rd and 4th in the National a few weeks a go. And we set off on Derby day itself - full circle indeed. I can't wait. I've even downloaded onto Kindle Hammond Innes's The Lonely Skier, which I remember reading in our chalet, as the rain and boredom and loneliness and misery swirled around me, and which I immediately deemed the best book ever written.
In 1976 Wollow was a beaten odds-on favourite. The French horse, Empery, won. It beat my own fancy – Relkino – which carried my £1ew at 33/1 and I have never looked back since. I still have a huge weakness for 33/1 shots. So, today's easy. The French horse Epicuris to win, Moheet ew at 33/1 and an exacta the two. Et voilà...