Overnight rain at Epsom had lessened the chance of market drifter
Cacoethes, but Nashwan was all the rage in the betting.
That Sandown run had obviously taken a lot out of him, and
Cacoethes was not so readily shaken off this time, duelling with the favourite throughout the last quarter-mile and conceding by no more than a neck.
You're never going to see Group 1 horses at the seaside venue, although I did see Guy Harwood's
Cacoethes bolt up by half the track in April 1989, before finishing third to Nashwan in the Derby.
Her best performance was perhaps when second to Carroll House in the 1989 Arc, with In The Wings and
Cacoethes among those in arrears.
It was not a strong Derby field but Nashwan, the 5-4 favourite, had style and speed and opened up with his long, smooth stride to dismiss his only serious market rival,
Cacoethes, winner of the Lingfield Derby Trial, leaving Terimon, at 500-1, to be closest at the finish, five lengths behind.
While he was never champion, Starkey's career lasted nearly 35 years, two decades of them right at the top level featuring a litany of memorable victories on horses like To-Agori-Mou, Kalaglow, Shangamuzo in the Gold Cup, the ridiculous Star Appeal in the Arc, Soviet Star and
Cacoethes later on.
In 1989, he made all in the Group 1 Juddmonte International at York, scoring at 16-1 under Tony Clark, who held off Starkey on the yard's first string
Cacoethes.
Among the departed British owners, Sir Ernest Harrison had
Cacoethes, placed behind Nashwan in the Derby and King George in 1989.
He was a 19-1 shot on Arc day, behind the likes of King George runner-up
Cacoethes and star French-trained colt In The Wings, but Kinane rode him with tremendous confidence.
Nashwan (left) beat
Cacoethes in the King George but failed to make the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after defeat in the Prix Niel