Auguste Rodin showed his class at Epsom with an exceptional display to run down King Of Steel and provide Aidan O’Brien with a record-extending ninth victory in the Betfred Derby.

Described by the Ballydoyle handler as a “collector’s item” prior to the premier Classic, the son of Deep Impact had a point to prove having been bitterly disappointing when favourite for the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Despite that he was still popular with backers ahead of the blue riband and having been sent off at 9-2 in the hands of Ryan Moore he set about tackling the undulations of the Surrey Downs from stall 10.

Settled in mid-division as stablemates San Antonio and Adelaide River dictated terms up front, with Frankie Dettori in his final Derby aboard Arrest and Sir Michael Stoute’s Passenger also close by, Moore was content to let the action unfold as Kevin Stott aboard the 66-1 outsider King Of Steel made an audacious bid for home after rounding Tattenham Corner.

However, Roger Varian’s imposing runner soon had a target on his back and with Auguste Rodin eating into King Of Steel’s advantage with every stride, the highly-regarded colt was soon powering his way to pass that rival to give Moore his third Derby victory.

Regal Reality swooped late in the hands of Ryan Moore to claim the Betfred Diomed Stakes at Epsom.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the eight-year-old was barely in the equation in the early stages as Marie’s Diamond set a brisk pace.

And he still had the majority of the field ahead of him, with Charlie Appleby’s 2-1 favourite Highland Avenue travelling powerfully around Tattenham Corner and surging to the lead.

It was Roger Varian’s Kolsai who first took aim at Highland Avenue and laid down a stern challenge, but all the while Moore was coaxing Regal Reality into a position to strike and having joined the three-way tussle for the lead inside the final furlong, he ran on strongly to win by three-quarters of a length at odds of 5-1.

The winner is owned by Peter Done, brother of Betfred boss Fred Done.

Pascal Bary’s Feed The Flame will bid to maintain his flawless record in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on Sunday.

The son of Kingman did not run as a two-year-old and made his debut at ParisLongchamp in April, winning a maiden by five and a half lengths under Christophe Soumillon.

He then returned to the same track later that month to contest the Prix de Ferrieres, a race he won by a length and a quarter over a mile and three furlongs.

The exciting colt has not been seen since and returns to action to try to make it three from three in the French Derby.

“We gave him some time off after he won for the second time, even though he had won easily twice,” said Bary.

“After that we’ve built him up again for Sunday.

“On his debut the ground was perfect, next time it was very soft but there is a big cushion in the ground at the moment, so there’s no reason he won’t handle it.

“I don’t think the draw (stall six) is going to be an issue, there are not going to be that many runners, but you have to ride him the way that suits him anyway.

“Christophe has ridden him. He hasn’t had a retainer this year. He’s one of the best jockeys, so if you can get him it makes sense.

“I do think he will be better over a mile and a half, despite his pedigree, but I think he’ll be quicker on his feet on Sunday than he has been in the past.”

Christopher Head will aim for the second Classic winner of his career as Big Rock attempts to extend a unbeaten run that has seen him win all four starts this term.

After taking a handicap and a Listed event, the Rock Of Gibraltar colt landed two Group Threes in the Prix la Force and the Prix de Guiche and now steps up both in trip and in grade.

“We didn’t know the limits of this horse, that was before he ran in the Prix de Guiche, he then won it by five lengths,” said Head, who trains the brilliant filly Blue Rose Cen.

“When I talk about limits, what I mean is that I didn’t really know how far he could go and he has proven that he is a horse that has a lot of speed and who can go over that trip.

“The thing is with him is that he’s got that cruising speed, he travels at that cruising speed and you can see how he finishes and how he responds over that trip.”

Ryan Moore will partner Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous, a Heart’s Cry colt who was last seen dead-heating for third in the Dante at York.

Prior to that he was twice a winner as a two-year-old, taking a Curragh maiden and then the Group Three Prix Thomas Bryon at Chantilly.

Moore told Betfair: “This looks a very hot contest. We have the French 2000 Guineas winner Marhaba Ya Sanafi, the unbeaten and unexposed Feed The Flame, and the impressive Chantilly winner Big Rock in here, to name but three, but I do think Continuous has a good shot at this.

“I thought he shaped very promisingly indeed for me when dead-heating for third with Passenger in the Dante, a race in which he just got a bit tired late on, on his first start since September.

“I would have thought that race would have brought him on a good deal, and he is a colt I rate. It’s a very deep French Derby but he should go well.”

O’Brien added: “Continuous is well. We’re happy with everything he’s done and we always thought soft ground suited him. He went to York and did it, and if it’s soft he definitely won’t mind it.”

Marhaba Ya Sanafi, trained by Andreas Schutz, takes his chance after a short-neck success in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, the French 2000 Guineas, last time out.

The sole British-trained runner is John and Thady Gosden’s Epictetus, second to Auguste Rodin in the Vertem Futurity Trophy as a juvenile, the winner of the Listed Blue Riband Trial on debut this year and then fifth in the Dante. Frankie Dettori takes the ride.

Andre Fabre’s Flight Leader joins Yann Barberot’s American Flag and Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti’s Winter Pudding in the line-up.

Jean-Claude Rouget has a trio or runners in Rajapour, Padishakh and the unbeaten Ace Impact.

Nineteen people have been arrested in connection with plans to disrupt the Epsom Derby Festival on Saturday, Surrey Police said.

Officers said 11 people were arrested at addresses in Mitcham and Byfleet in the early hours of the morning following warrants based on intelligence received ahead of the festival.

Eight people were also arrested after a vehicle stopped in Burgh Heath at about 10.20am.

All were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit public nuisance and remain in police custody.

Activists from the group Animal Rising had pledged to “cancel or severely delay” the Derby in the lead-up to the event.

Frankie Dettori credits the Betfred Derby with giving him the “biggest thrill” of his career as he prepares for one last roll of the dice at Epsom.

The Italian is one of the most successful and well-known jockeys of all time, but all good things must come to an end and this year will be his last before retirement.

As a result of that decision, his journey throughout the fixtures of the Flat season is naturally grabbing the headlines, and on Saturday all eyes will be on his ride in one of the oldest and most prestigious races in existence.

Dettori will partner John and Thady Gosden’s Arrest, a Frankel colt with a live chance of providing him with a third victory in the premier Classic.

Those two prior successes and the promise of retirement leave the 52-year-old rider feeling relaxed ahead of his final Derby performance – an emotion he was not familiar with when striving to get his name on the roll of honour in years gone by.

Dettori’s first Derby ride was Pollen Count in 1992, who finished 16th of 18, and he would have to wait 15 years before he could return triumphant from the Epsom Downs track to the tiny winner’s circle.

Incidentally that decade-and-a-half wait was something endured also by Sir Anthony McCoy, who had a similar barren spell in searching for his first Grand National.

In the meantime Dettori partnered several contenders who ultimately fell short – Tamure was second in 1995, Shantou was third in 1996, Cape Verdi was ninth as the 11-4 favourite in 1998, Dubai Millennium was also ninth as the 5-1 favourite in 1999, Tobougg was third in 2001, Snow Ridge was seventh as the 7-2 joint-favourite in 2004 and Dubawi was third in 2005.

Finally Authorized obliged in 2007 for trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam, winning by a wonderful five lengths as the 5-4 favourite and sweetening the sour relationship between Dettori and the race.

“It was a nightmare. Every time it came to the Derby it was a nightmare!” he said of the winless run.

“When I won in 2007 I was full of relief. Finally, it was the last piece of the jigsaw.

“It was a nightmare though, even more when I rode Authorized because he was a big favourite, it was a lot on me and it was a relief.

“Cape Verdi got beat, I rode Dubai Millennium, I rode loads of good ones that got beat.

“The point of the Derby is it’s only once a year – once it’s gone, it’s gone. At Ascot you’ve got 35 races, you’ve got the rest of the afternoon, but the Derby only comes once.”

Dettori would go on to win again in 2015, this time with the Gosden-trained Golden Horn, who struck as the 13-8 favourite and provided the rider with one of the most memorable days of his career.

“Golden Horn was a different thing because I really got to enjoy it, I was older and my kids were older,” he said.

“I didn’t have the pressure to try to win it for the first time either, so it was a lot more enjoyable. Probably my biggest thrill in one single race was that race.”

Though the racing industry has inevitably changed since Dettori first took to the track as a young man from Italy, he still considers the Derby the pinnacle of achievement in racing and credits it as the driving factor in the development of the thoroughbred breed.

“It’s the most important race, we have been breeding thoroughbreds for 350 years to win the Derby,” he said.

“For a jockey, when you start you want to win the Derby. Trainers, owners, breeders, the Derby is why we are breeding thoroughbreds, for this race.

“The tradition has been going for hundreds of years and it will be going for hundreds of years. It is the most important race.”

Frankie Dettori is as relaxed as ever and feels he has “nothing to prove” ahead of his last ever Betfred Derby ride aboard Arrest.

The veteran jockey – who will bring the curtain down on his glittering career at the end of 2023 – will join forces with John and Thady Gosden for the blue riband, an event he has won twice before aboard Authorized and Golden Horn, in 2007 and 2015 respectively.

Arrest is a son of Frankel who took an established Derby trial when landing the Chester Vase by six and a half lengths in May, though the soft going meant that race was run in significantly different conditions to those expected at the weekend.

Nevertheless, the Juddmonte-owned colt has undertaken a pleasing gallop since at Epsom, and his status as a Derby hopeful is a boon for Dettori as he did not expect to pick up a competitive ride in his final year in the saddle.

He said: “It’s my last year, I thought I’d find it hard to find a Derby ride, never mind a Derby ride with a chance. It’s actually surprising to me that I’m in this position and I have a shot at it, a proper shot at it. I’m very excited.

“When I said in December I was going to retire, I never thought I’d get the ride on a horse with a great chance to win the Derby, so it is a great position to be in.

“Arrest has filled out to be a good-looking horse, very strong, he’s improved throughout the spring and won his trial very well, even if it was a non-event on that ground. We know the distance is no problem, he’s full of himself and it looks a wide-open Derby. I would say I’ve got as good a chance as anyone.

“I wouldn’t like to swap him with anything else because I feel like I’m going in with as good a chance as anyone. He’s got a bit of a round action, a high knee action, we took him to Epsom and gave him a bit of a gallop round and he seems fine.”

With Auguste Rodin having a question mark after his eclipse in the Guineas, there is no runaway favourite for the race this year. But Dettori has an eye on Sir Michael Stoute’s Passenger, a maiden winner who suffered a luckless passage through the Dante before dead-heating for third.

“He’s the one that we still don’t know how good he is, he never got a fair crack at the Dante and he’s only run twice, so he could be anything,” he said.

Arrest is drawn in stall 13 of 14 runners and while the perceived wisdom is that a higher draw is generally beneficial at Epsom, Dettori does not think the stall position is as significant a factor as others believe.

He said: “There has been a lot of emphasis on it, but they’ve been winning from everywhere.

“To win the Derby you need a good horse, the draw makes no difference. Simple as that!”

Though he expects the emotion of hanging up his boots to catch up with him as his final rides loom, for now Dettori is enjoying his farewell tour and at ease going into one of the biggest weekends of racing anywhere in the world.

He said: “Believe it or not, I’m so chilled. Maybe it’s because I’ve got nothing to prove and if I do make a balls up of it, it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling very chilled, I’m embracing it, I’m super relaxed.

“I’m really enjoying it. It will be a different kettle of fish when I get to October and the last few days will be difficult, but at the moment I feel good.”

Mike Tindall has said he wishes animal rights activists would “go and spend a bit of time at professional yards” to see how well horses are looked after.

The former England rugby player will be joined by his wife Zara Tindall, daughter of the Princess Royal, at Epsom on Saturday.

The late Queen’s granddaughter competed in the London 2012 Olympics, winning a team eventing silver medal, which was presented by her mother Princess Anne.

When asked if he is hoping protesters stay off the track on Saturday, Tindall said: “Yes, of course.

“I wish they would just go and spend a bit of time at professional yards and have a look at how well the horses are looked after.

“I know how well my wife looks after her horses and how much she cares for them.

“They are like people.

“I’ve been to AP McCoy’s yard where he’s been having a birthday party for one of the horses.

“They are treated unbelievably well.

“Unfortunately, tragedy happens in the wild probably more than it does on the track and people forget this.

“All you can say is I know how well every trainer looks after their horse and every jockey cares about their horse, and you just wish they’d see that a bit more.”

Animal rights activists have pledged to “cancel or severely delay” the Derby on Saturday as police brace for disruption.

Writing on Twitter, activist group Animal Rising claimed it was willing to “put their bodies on the line”.

There comes a point when you think Frankie Dettori is writing his own scripts. And we are surely approaching that now, after the magical Italian added the Betfred Oaks on Soul Sister to the 2000 Guineas he won on Chaldean, begging the question ‘why retire?’.

Just for good measure Dettori also won the day’s other Group One contest at Epsom, the Dahlbury Coronation Cup, with Emily Upjohn – and ended the afternoon as favourite to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Both winners were trained by John and Thady Gosden.

There were joyous scenes following both victories. Dettori was delighted to have won the Coronation Cup for the Lloyd Webbers, part-owners of the filly and long-standing patrons at the Gosden yard, after she was so narrowly denied in the Oaks 12 months ago.

And while Group Ones are not to be sniffed at, especially in your final year, it is the Classics the game is built around and for what jockeys are really remembered.

This was Dettori’s seventh Oaks to go with four wins each in the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, six St Legers and two Derbys – more of that later.

“Emily was incredible, I didn’t expect that. Then in the Oaks – she’s a good filly,” said the 52-year-old.

Listening to Dettori explaining his thought process through a race is like a teaching from a master, and he clearly still gets a great kick out of it.

He said: “It was a bit messy in the beginning and she took a while to organise, I had to bite the bullet. She jumped good and I was looking for somebody’s wheel to follow as I didn’t want to be stuck wide.

“I wanted to slot in behind Ryan (Moore, on favourite Savethelastdance), but William (Buick, on Eternal Hope) was there before me. I thought with Oisin (Murphy, on the withdrawn Running Lion) out of the way the ones to beat were Ryan and William, so I parked myself behind William to get her to relax.

“Nearly out of Tattenham Corner William’s horse just dived in front of me so I thought, given she only had a little experience, if I went wide at least I would have clean air.”

He went on: “I then had to avoid the other pacemaker and swing even wider and the Connor (Beasley on Caernarfon) came upsides me.

“I didn’t ask for my filly’s ultimate effort and I was telling myself to bide my time, I sat quiet between the three (furlong marker) and the one and a half and then I was just hoping if I pressed the button she’d go. And she did go! It was good relief. The track wasn’t to her liking, but she showed so much class.”

Of course, there has been no bigger showman in racing since Dettori came over to England from Italy in the late 1980s and just a few years later he was a household name.

Quite what the sport will do to fill the void when he retires later this is still up for debate. He remains the biggest marketing tool out there by a long way and the publicity of his farewell season, with him still at the top of his game, cannot be bought.

“I was able to enjoy the screaming of all of the crowd and I couldn’t believe I’d won another Oaks! I was able to enjoy it and I loved it as I knew I’d won,” he said.

“Usually when you win the Oaks they give you an oak tree, the last one I got for Snowfall my dog decided to play with it and ripped it around the garden, so I could do with a new tree!

“When I passed them all I knew as I’d come from the back, I knew there was nobody behind me. You don’t get many opportunities to celebrate like that – maybe with Snowfall who was 20 lengths clear – but all the owners are here and all the gang so to go home and say I’ve done a 100 per cent job is great.”

However good the Oaks is, one race above all others in Flat racing is king. The Betfred Derby may be under well-documented threat from animal rights protesters, but if Frankie Dettori has his way there will an Arrest of a different kind on the front pages.

“At the moment things are going well, but you can easily mess up in this game! Five months is a long time,” he said when asked why he was calling it a day.

“If I stay one more year I might get close to Lester’s (Piggott) 30 (Classics) – I’m joking! It’s mental, it’s incredible. I’ve had three good rides this weekend, Emily, Soul Sister and Arrest. To get two in the bag with one to go is incredible, I’m very excited about tomorrow. John’s horses, as you can see, are on fire and let’s hope it continues to tomorrow.”

Jack Channon was far from downhearted after coming within two lengths of Betfred Oaks glory with Caernarfon in his first season with a training licence.

Channon took over from his father Mick at West Ilsley at the start of the year, and has wasted little time in making his presence felt in the fillies’ Classics, with Caernarfon having also taken a fine fourth in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket last month.

Stepping up to 12 furlongs for the first time at Epsom, Channon thought he might be about to enjoy a dream start to his training career as Caernarfon briefly grabbed the lead two furlongs out.

However, the unstoppable Frankie Dettori – landing his second Group One of the day – delivered Soul Sister with a perfectly-timed challenge to secure the honours, with Caernarfon touched off a head by Savethelastdance for second.

The 40-1 shot could now drop back in distance after delighting Channon with her run.

He said: “I thought she was going to win two out, but then I saw Frankie was cantering as well. She’s a very good filly, I’ll see what Connor (Beasley, jockey) says but she tanked herself into the race, had every chance and she’s probably just been outstayed by two stayers.

“She’s a very good filly and has run a belter. She’ll probably drop back to 10 furlongs but I’ll have a chat with Connor and let the dust settle.

“I couldn’t be happier – apart from if she’d won.”

Beasley was equally as thrilled, adding: “She travelled lovely into the race. Coming away down Tattenham Corner she came underneath me really good and I thought, ‘I’ve just got to try to pick a way through’. She obviously hit the front and I don’t think she’s quite seen it out.

“But it was amazing, what she’s just done there, and I think we’ve got a very nice filly to go to war with.

“I can’t thank Jack and Mick Channon enough and the owners – they’ve stood by me with her.”

Savethelastdance was sent off the 5-6 favourite on the back of her wide-margin Cheshire Oaks victory, one that came on deep ground as opposed to the much quicker Epsom conditions.

Her trainer Aidan O’Brien offered no excuses in defeat, saying: “She has run well but she obviously handles soft ground and stays very well.

“We were very happy with her really. She has a lot of options and we can do whatever.

“Ryan (Moore) was very happy and said she ran a good race. She stayed on very well. The winner was a bit quicker than her on the better ground, but she ran well. She ran a great race but she was beaten by a very classy filly.

“Ryan said she was not finished going to the line and that she was still going strong. A furlong out she looked like she was going to be third, but she stayed on well to be second.

“We will take her home and nothing is ruled in or out.”

Maman Joon, who had finished second on her only previous start at Newbury, defied her odds of 50-1 to take a distant fourth for jockey Kevin Stott and trainer Richard Hannon.

The rider said: “It was a really good run on just her second start. She will be going places and we like her a lot. I was riding for luck more than anything and it turned out the way I wanted.

“They just quickened up a bit quicker than I did, but that is probably down to her inexperience. It was a good run. I think there is a nice prize in her.”

There had been drama at the start when Running Lion, a stablemate of the winner, kicked out in the stalls before backing out and breaking free, leaving Oisin Murphy stranded and forcing her withdrawal from the race.

John Gosden is now targeting quick compensation in France, as long as the filly recovers sufficiently.

He said: “Running Lion has never done anything wrong before – she’s a pussycat. She got her leg caught in the gate and cut it, so they had to take her out, and then she got loose.

“We’ll get her right and then take her for the Prix de Diane in 16 days’ time.”

Murphy added: “She just kicked the back gates open.”