Many memorable wagers have succeeded in the Derby over time, ranging from John Bowes staking on West Australian back in 1853 for a sum worth more than £5m in modern terms, to Raymond Guest placing £500 each-way on Sir Ivor at 100-1 ahead of his triumph as the 4-5 favourite in 1968. Saturday's 247th Epsom Classic could deliver another notable result, even if no bookmaker stands to lose on the outcome.

Twenty months after a three-day spree costing £24m on yearlings at Tattersalls Book 1 in Newmarket during October 2024, football super-agent Kia Joorabchian heads to Epsom where two expensive acquisitions, Poker and Ancient Egypt, line up in the flagship Classic.

The purchase prices and current odds of these colts already highlight the risks involved in top-level bloodstock trading.

Poker, the priciest yearling colt sold at European public auction, fetched 4.3m gns (£4.5m) yet remains winless in three outings and starts around 200-1 as a potential first maiden winner since 1887.

Ancient Egypt cost roughly a quarter as much and sits about 185 places shorter in the market after three wins from four runs. Joorabchian had the 2026 Derby in mind when spending 1.1m gns (£1.2m) on this Frankel colt from a strong family, making early June the moment his investment might deliver.

Prize money plays little part. This year's Derby purse totals £2m with half going to the winner, a modest figure beside Joorabchian's drive to reach the elite level of international Flat racing.

Such goals have lately belonged mainly to owners with sovereign resources, such as ruling families from Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. To match them and build the breeding-racing cycle that sustains operations like Coolmore, Joorabchian requires a top stallion, ideally a Derby-winning son of Frankel.

Trainer Charlie Johnston notes that the colt's pedigree and price have been hard to overlook since arrival at the Middleham yard.

“You remind yourself that every horse receives equal care on arrival, price or pedigree aside,” Johnston said recently, “yet as George Orwell put it, all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.

“Pressure feels the wrong term. Kia never applied extra demands over the outlay, yet the chance to handle a horse of such pedigree and value makes you eager to succeed and match the attached hopes.”

Johnston had handled just one prior Amo Racing runner before this seven-figure horse arrived at the yard established by his father Mark. Now sole licence holder since 2023, he sent two 50-1 shots to Epsom last year for second and seventh, and aims to become the first Yorkshire trainer since 1869 to win the Derby at its home track.

“Our pair finished first and second among sales-ring horses in last year's Derby,” Johnston notes. “The rest of the first nine or ten came from homebreds by Godolphin, Coolmore and the Aga Khan, and our duo cost £80,000 combined.

“That price range is our usual territory. I would like more horses of higher value in the stable, yet it was excellent that Kia trusted us with such an animal. At the time there were no certainties the outlay would prove wise, but results have been largely positive since.”

A seventh placing behind Bow Echo, this season's 2,000 Guineas winner, in last September's Royal Lodge Stakes remains Ancient Egypt's sole poor effort. “Looking back we probably asked too much too early,” Johnston says. “Matching the speed of Bow Echo was always a stern test at that stage.”

That ended the colt's two-year-old campaign. He returned with a comfortable win in the Newmarket Stakes in early May.

“Another outing before Epsom was possible, yet I felt he had done enough to secure his place,” Johnston says.

“From a strong family that includes six-time Group One winner Midday, he possesses the pedigree and build to become a stallion. The task now is to add the necessary race record.”