Epsom Derby: Trainer aims for football-esque giantkilling at Britains richest race

For Saints-supporting racehorse trainer Andrew Balding, his sights are set on a victory for football-inspired Elm Park in the Epsom Derby -- Britain's richest and most prestigious horse race.

The horse is up against the might of Godolphin -- the multi-million dollar global horse racing operation of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which has the world's best horses, trainers and jockeys at its beck and call -- in Saturday's race.

'Racing has changed a huge amount and it's pretty difficult now when you have Coolmore [the world's largest breeding ground of thoroughbred racehorses] and Godolphin, which are massive operations with massive resources,' Balding told CNN.



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'We're like Southampton against Manchester City or Manchester United. It makes it a little bit tougher but it's more rewarding and exciting when you get it right.'

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Elm Park is named after Reading Football Club's old ground, not far from the stables in Kinsgclere where Balding has lived his entire life.

In all, eight winners of the Derby have been trained at Park House Stables, most recently Mill Reef trained by Balding's father Ian in 1971.

And much of the work done at the stables is with the Derby in mind.

'To win that would mean everything -- it's our equivalent of the European Cup, the World Cup in fact - it's the holy grail of racing,' Balding admitted.

Football courses through every nook and cranny of Park House, even on a wet Tuesday morning in the lengthy build-up to the Derby.

Each horse boasts its name on its stable door: including newcomers Le Tissier, named after Southampton's most celebrated player, and St Mary's, the name of Southampton's ground.

Matt Le Tissier, who played for the club for 16 years until retiring in 2002, was renowned for his mercurial talents on the field, which led to 161 goals during his playing days.

Giving a horse such an iconic name, Balding is aware of the expectation: 'I appreciate with the name it needs to be magical but we're hopeful it can be. As for St Mary's, I'm not sure. She's not looking great but it's early stages for both so hopefully she'll come good.'

Park House is very much a family operation. Bought by Balding's grandfather Peter Hastings-Bass in the early 1950s, it was passed down to Ian, who sent out 2,000 winners in all -- 123 in group races.

The younger Balding was handed the reins in 2003 after four years as his father's assistant. Dad is still a major part of the stables, regularly out on horse back as the current crop of horses are put through their paces.

Two lots of horses go out on the gallops each morning in large groups. On the day in question, Elm Park comes out in the second lot, which begins with six laps of an indoor school before a short walk to the gallops that make up Watership Down -- from which Richard Adams' famous 1972 book got its name.

The thunder of hooves fills the air as Elm Park and the rest of the runners hurtle up the long straight through driving rain.

Inside the tack room lie famous silks of owners that Balding's horses race for, including those of Her Majesty the Queen who has four horses still in the yard.

It is a room with a nod to some famous victories and steeped in history. At the entrance is the simple warning: 'God helps them that helps themselves but God help anyone that helps themselves to anything in this color room.'

Of his most famous owner, he says: 'That's really a throwback to my father but we're obviously still very honored and it's a very enjoyable experience as well.

'She's hugely knowledgeable -- the family and her horses goes way back and she knows so much about them and the sport. She's always had a very positive input here.'

Balding has only every really known life at Park House, born and brought up here along with his sister -- British broadcaster Clare Balding -- before taking over the running of it 12 years ago with 74 staff under his wing.

There is a reminder on every corner of the prestigious horses to have been through here before his time, most notably Mill Reef, victorious in the Derby but also the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, The Eclipse, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Coronation Cup.

A bronze statue takes pride of place in the Mill Reef Yard but Balding argues: 'The history's not a burden. If anything, it's just aspirational. We should be aiming for those wins.'

Should victory be achieved on Saturday, it will be on a par with Southampton's feat of making their way to seventh in the EPL table this season despite selling many of their best players to their league rivals ahead of the 2014-15 season.

Balding is a regular at Southampton home games -- outside of the flat racing season, of course -- taking his eight and seven-year-old sons Jonno and Toby. 'We go come rain or shine for them even on days when I could think of better things to do!' he joked.

He adds: 'I think Ronald Koeman [Southampton's manager] has done such a fine job with the players that left last summer and many people writing the club off. It looks like others might go this summer like Morgan Schneiderlin and Nathaniel Clyne [Balding's favorite player] but neither are done deals.'

More pressing than Southampton's transfer business is his best ever shot in the Derby in Elm Park, a horse that finished third in his sole warm-up race in 2015, the Dante Stakes behind two Derby rivals in Golden Horn and Jack Hobbs.

'He was a little bit fresh early in the race and wasted a bit of energy but he'll learn from that,' he says. 'Of course, we went into the race wanting to win but we were really impressed with the way he traveled in that race and he was 13 lengths clear of fourth place.

'It's great for him to get a run out, he'll be fitter and he's come out of the race very well. He's strong and we're hopeful.'

The Investec Derby on Saturday 6 June is part of the QIPCO British Champions Series. For tickets go to www.britishchampionsseries.com



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