The first Wednesday in June - Teenoso in 1983

The first Wednesday in June - Teenoso in 1983, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

Exactly 28 years ago today, after one of the wettest Springs on record, it was time to run the 203rd Derby at Epsom. I had been following this horse Teenoso through his first runs of the season, the horse loving the mud. Although he was not very fashionably bred (by Youth out of Glorioso) and had not won the major trails, he was being ridden by the great master of Epsom, namely Lester Piggott. partly because of this and partly for his liking of the soft ground he was sent off teh 3-1 favourite and he justified those odds by winning easily by 3 lengths, giving Lester his ninth Derby winner and his trainer Geoff Wragg his first Derby winner in his first season of training (having taken over from his father Harry Wragg).

The following season, Teenoso was to win one of teh greatest races ever staged in Britain in teh modern era, namely the King George and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot froma field which includfed many Classic winners as well as the colt who wopuld later become the greatest stallion in Europe of the 1990's and 2000's, namely Sadler's Wells. And he did this on firm ground too.

He was favourite for the Arc later in October that year but got injured before the race and didn't run.

I would folow the runners of Geoff Wragg for many years until he retired in 2008 (0r 2009), particularly those horses being run in the chocolate and gold colours of the Moller brothers. These included horses like Pentire, First Trump, First Island, Petardia, Topsy, Autumn Glory, Swallow Flight and so on.