JUNE began in England - like virtually the whole of January to May inclusive - with the most appalling weather. The Derby knockers would be right for once; any fool could see that the Classic season was just a wet tee-shirt contest for the jockeys on horses that could handle bad ground. Then, mon dieu! It started raining champions. Out of the gloom came two quality Derby winners.

No sooner had Epsom sworn in a power-surge called Oath than along came Montjeu 24 hours later to win the French equivalent at Chantilly in the style of a Sea Bird.

Suddenly - and with more than a jereboam of deja vu - the knockers were back in the Grandstand bar consuming the champagne reserved for the Derby fan-club and playing the usual after-winner game: records and comparisons.

Just how good was Oath? What did this mean for winning trainer Henry Cecil? Would Montjeu beat Oath in the Irish Derby? All meaningless questions at which "the telly" is so skilled. That last of the three questions was, in this year of rain, rain and more rain, the most ridiculous of all. Quick to pounce upon it were Corals.

Now the big three British bookmakers have taken some stick of late, plying their trade as they do these days on behalf of some Japanese bank or Euro venture-capital company. But Corals move was cool. Cute. Downright clever.

Oath passes Daliapour

Despite being surrounded by thunderstorms, Oath in fact earned his Saturday corn at Epsom in faster-than-average time and the going was returned that day as "good" whereas, on the Sunday they dipped wet strawberries in storm-soured cream at Chantilly, the ground for Montjeu was "soft" and the Prix du Jockey Club time was fully five seconds worse than average. For transatlantic readers, that's pretty damned sloppy. Montjeu, nevertheless, gained the better rating than Oath and, I think, deservedly so, on lines to European form to date and on his devastating victory.

So how come Corals went 8-11 Oath to beat Montjeu in the Irish Derby? You could get evens Montjeu in a two-horse race. You could probably get it tax free, too, if you took the price on a racecourse (or maybe if you had a controversial tax-free credit account in Gibraltar with one of Victor Chandler's companies).

The answer to Corals is that they were not really betting on the horses at all. Their offer was tantamount to betting 8-11 goodish ground at The Curragh, evens "soft." At the time of their offer, immediately after the French Derby, and almost three weeks before the Irish version, it was anyone's guess what the going would be on the day. In fact, the true question implicit in the bet was: will we still be getting all this damned rain by the end of the month?

Rain or shine, June was busting out all over with records to damp down the gloom. By training Oath to win on June 5, Henry Cecil became the leading trainer of British Classic winners this century with 22. Well, almost: John Porter (23) ended his Classics span in 1900.

So Cecil has gone clear now of great, emotionally-charged names like Fred Darling (19), Sir Noel Murless (17), Vincent O'Brien and Dick Hern (16 each).

Slip Anchor with David his handler

It was Cecil's fourth Epsom Derby winner following Slip Anchor, Reference Point and Commander in Chief, the first two having been ridden in 1985 and 1987 by U.S. ace Steve Cauthen. As they lined up for Oath's Derby this year, it was a first ride for another American star Gary Stevens, who has joined Sir Michael "Shergar" Stoute at Newmarket. But the yankee who earned the stripes that weekend was Cash Asmussen aboard Montjeu in France. Gary could finish only third on his English Blue Riband debut.

But Beat All was perhaps the unluckiest horse in the race. First he had to bypass his trial, the Dante Stakes at York, because of soft ground; then he bruised a foot 10 days before Epsom, missing vital work. Finally, as Stevens explained afterwards: "I'd like to have had this run on firm. I couldn't really get after him." Asked to compare the English and the Kentucky Derbys, Gary described the Oath race as "an honest pace" and "a clean trip for everyone, apart from jostling on the first bend." That's what made Housemaster the second-unluckiest horse on the day. He was almost knocked over in the bunching caused by a desperate dash to "get a position." Even at that early stage of the race. it's better to be up there and lie handy on a course of undulations, switchback and heavy camber.

Pre-race Parade

Oath is a handy horse, and was always handy on the day, unlike his grand-daddy on the dam's side, Troy, who came from way back off the fence and out into the middle for Dick Hern and Willie Carson in 1979. Perhaps because it was close to a rather large betting-voucher in my pocket did my heart miss a beat that day.

In fact, All The Way tried to do just that in the 1999 Epsom Derby. Out of the stalls with him were Oath and the unbeaten French hope Val Royal for Andre Fabre and Olivier Peslier. Both were settled back a place or two. But Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh, recalling his pillar-to-post attempt on Sunshine Street (fourth the previous year), pushed Epsom-based All The Way into a clear lead. Both horse and rider knew the track and the way to play catch-me-if-you-can.

Salford Express, who had won the Dante trial at York in Beat All's absence, is another who likes softish ground and a front-running role. He chased after All The Way for much of the way, which was one big mistake!

At halfway, Daliapour was in third behind the two pace-setters. Val Royal and Oath were tucked in behind them, and Lucido (Italian for "light") was getting closer.

Now, Lucido had beaten Oath a neck at Newbury and Daliapour a length and a half in the Lingfield Derby trial. Both Kieren Fallon on Oath and Gerald Mosse, riding Daliapour for Luca "High-Rise" Cumani, were adamant that they would turn the tables. But, on the day, Lucido who had been a £75,000 supplementary entry, took the biggest late volume of money. Had punters seen the light? It seemed possible as Lucido crept into a challenging sixth spot.

Now they are making the descent towards Tattenham Corner. All The Way and Salford Express are still out there in front and one thing is certain: something's got to give; lungs will burst in the ruck behind. Around Tattenham Corner and, would you believe it, Murtagh's kicked on and All The Way has found another gear. He's shaken off Salford Express. Lucido's gone. Both Mick Kinane on Saffron Walden and Frankie Dettori on Dubai Millenium are struggling to find the stamina. There will be no Irish victory. And the Millenium will have to wait for another year. All The Way's still going. But Daliapour's moving into second place, clearly with a lot of running to do. Oath is still there. Gary's trying to galvanise Beat All. The heartbreak Epsom hill looms ahead.

At the line

At last All The Way is beginning to crack. Oath's coming on the outside of Daliapour. Beat All is picking up. Housemaster has fought back into the race and is coming with a run. It's Daliapour and Oath. It's Oath. Daliapour. Beat All. Housemaster. It's...

It's deja vu. There's Kieren Fallon again in the winner's enclosure, greeted by a close-to-tears Henry Cecil. Only the day before, we'd seen exactly that as the pair had polished off Henry's sixth Oaks with Ramruma. Enter the record-seekers and the autograph-hunters... again. And it could so easily have been a clean sweep. Wince won Henry the 1,000 Guineas and only narrow defeat by Enrique's coming too late in the 2,000 robbed Cecil of a four-timer.

Fallon, the County Clare Irishman, in only his third year with Cecil - he quickly won the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks on Sleepytime and Reams of Verse in 1997 - was eager to say of Henry: "Without him, I wouldn't be here." Cecil began his response: "Without him..."

Deja vu again. This mini mutual-admiration society recalled the same boyish grin on Steve Cauthen's face, and the same shy response from the maestro of trainers. Cauthen-Cecil notched nine Classics. You have the feeling Cecil-Fallon could do the same.

The Derby-Oaks double was last completed by Henry and Steve through Slip Anchor and Oh So Sharp in 1985. Dick Hern and Willie Carson had done it with Henbit and Bireme in 1980, the year after the dramatic Derby win by Oath's maternal grandsire, Troy. Oath is by Fairy King, full brother to the great Sadler's Wells.

Sadler's Wells, represented this year by Daliapour, was siring the Epsom second for the fifth time following Dushyantor, King's Theatre, Tamure and Blue Stag. He still hadn't won the greatest of Derbys, though Montjeu would provide him marvellous consolation in scintillating style the following day.

Consolation, too, somewhere, somehow, must surely await both Gary Stevens and Beat All.

Mon dieu, if it came up firm, at the Curragh, or in the Arc (in your dreams!) 8-11 Oath and evens Montjeu would both go out of the window. Stevens would Beat All the odds in the right conditions. D'you wanna bet? Or would you rather buy an umbrella?

The Irish Derby (Postscript)

Derby winner Oath defected in his proposed confrontation with French ace and winner of the gallic equivalent, Montjeu. The duo had been scheduled to clash at the Curragh in the Irish Derby but just a few days beforehand Oath had put in a lacklustre performance on the gallops and trainer Henry Cecil wisely pulled him out, saving him for an assault on the King George at Ascot on Diamond day. As it transpired, it looks as if the best Oath could have hoped for would have been second place behind the hugely impressive Montjeu, who without "over-hype" really does look like champion material. Despite a rather ungainly head carriage, Montjeu sailed past the gallant runner up daliapour (who had filled the same position at Epsom) with almost contemtuous ease and incredibly, never looked extended......in the process giving French based trainer, John Hammond, the best possible birthday present.

Using Daliapour as a yardstick, (and he does seem to be the most genuine and consistent of horses), Oath would have just been flotsam bobbing in Montjeu's wake. The softish ground was all in Mantjeu's favour and maybe, just maybe on good fast ground the tables would be turned....but what odds of that at Longchamp in October? That will certainly be Montjeu's remaining major target this season and who could you reasonably name to beat him.

Cash Asmussen, the winning jockey, may find himself in an awkward situation come October since he is also the regular rider of Dream Wall, the '98 French Derby winner.....time will tell.

The Irish Derby result, represents a remarkable success for top stallion Sadlers Wells since the first three home were sired by him, the third placed horse being Tchaikowsky, the first of Aiden O'Brien's to finish. Beat All with Gary Stevens aboard came with a good run but faded suggesting that either the ground or the distance didn't really suit him (interestingly, some horses who "stay" at Epsom fail to do so at the Curragh)

Monjeu looks "the business" - surely the '99 Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe is his for the taking.....?