Three long shots in a 14‑runner Derby will never dominate the headlines, but A Taste Of Glory, Alderman and Poker are exactly the sort of runners that can turn a small each‑way flutter into a memorable afternoon.
Recent history is littered with big‑priced horses outrunning their odds at Epsom, and if you are playing for beer‑money stakes rather than lumping on the favourite, these three Epsom Derby outsiders are worth a closer look.
Two days ago all three were 200/1 but bookmakers have re-evaluated and shortened the odds a bit. That doesn’t mean they aren’t still good value with Alderman 100/1, Poker at 125/1, and A Taste Of Glory and 150/1.
On paper they are long shots, but the Derby routinely produces shock placings. In 2021, Richard Hannon sent out Mojo Star to finish second at 50/1 behind Adayar, having come into the race as a maiden and largely ignored by the market.
Andrew Balding has also come close with massive prices, saddling Khalifa Sat and Hoo Ya Mal to finish second at 50/1 and 150/1 in 2020 and 2022 respectively.
Those results underline a simple point: the market is very good at finding the winner, but it is much less accurate when you start talking about who might sneak into the frame.
With Betfred paying four places at one‑fifth the odds, a 150/1 shot running third still returns at 30/1 – more than enough to justify a cheeky £1 each‑way.
A Taste Of Glory – Balding’s Other Derby Hand
While all the attention at Kingsclere is on unbeaten Dante winner Item, Balding also runs German‑bred A Taste Of Glory, who comes here as a maiden but with bits of form that suggest he might not be completely out of his depth.
He has won a couple of very minor races, but he has shown ability in defeat in bigger tests, though admittedly somewhat off the pace in Group 1 and Class 1 company.
Previewers have him around 150/1 and describe him as a likely pace angle who could give his backers a run for their money if he gets into a rhythm near the front.
From a punter’s point of view, that style is interesting as forward‑going horses can sometimes hang on for a minor placing if the field does not come at them early enough on the downhill run to Tattenham Corner.
Balding’s record with outsiders at Epsom is a key part of the story. This is the trainer who almost landed a 150/1 Derby shock with Hoo Ya Mal and has made a habit of getting supposed no‑hopers to outrun their odds in big races.
If you are looking for a narrative to hang a small each‑way on, Balding’s long shot hitting the frame again is not a wild one.
Alderman – Hannon’s New Mojo Star?
Alderman lines up for Richard Hannon and long‑time owner Julie Wood, and the market has not been kind. He is a general 100/1 chance and, like A Taste Of Glory, arrives as a maiden. Hannon, though, has been here before.
In 2021 he sent out Mojo Star to finish second in the Derby at 50/1, having also been a maiden going into the race, and he has been happy to remind people of that precedent.
Hannon has spoken about how much it would mean to see Alderman reward Wood’s loyalty, making it clear that this is not just a token runner making up the numbers.
The colt has shown enough at home and on the track to convince connections he can at least hold his own, and his trainer believes the step up to 1m4f will bring about improvement.
From an each‑way angle, Alderman appeals as the type who may have been campaigned with gradual progression in mind, rather than tuned up to peak in a trial.
If he does find a chunk of improvement for the longer trip and the stronger pace, you are suddenly talking about a horse who is priced as if he has no chance at all but is trained by someone with very recent form in making a nonsense of long odds in this exact race.
Poker – The £4.3m Colt Nobody Wants To Know At 125/1
If you like a story, Poker is irresistible. Bought for £4.3 million at the 2024 Tattersalls sale, he was the most expensive yearling colt sold at auction in the world that year and was instantly talked about as a potential Classic horse for Amo Racing.
Karl Burke has been at pains not to over‑hype him, describing him as a work in progress around his Haydock debut, but the fact remains that this is a blue‑blooded colt with a huge price‑tag going off at around 125/1 for the Derby.
Burke and Amo have given him a patient campaign, starting in a Haydock maiden and stepping him up quietly rather than throwing him into the deep end too soon.
Stride and data analysis types note that his optimal trip may be around 10–11 furlongs, which raises a question about absolute stamina at Epsom, but it also suggests he could travel strongly into the race for a long way.
For an each‑way punt, that is not necessarily a negative. You want a horse who will still be in contention when they straighten for home.
If he takes a step forward, handles the track and finds a bit extra for the new trip, Poker could suddenly look wildly over‑priced at three‑figure odds.
So, Are These Epsom Derby Outsiders Worth A Pound Each Way?
No one is pretending A Taste Of Glory, Alderman or Poker are as likely winners as Benvenuto Cellini, Item or Maltese Cross. But the Derby is not just a win‑only race for most punters.
With each‑way terms of one‑fifth the odds for four places in many lists, 150/1 shots become 30/1 place plays and history shows that supposedly impossible results happen at Epsom more often than we care to remember.
If you are building a staking plan around the Derby, it can make a lot of sense to have your main bets on the front of the market and then throw a spare pound each‑way at one of these big‑priced runners, especially if you like the trainer’s record or the story behind the horse.
It keeps you interested if the favourite flops, and, once in a while, the Epsom Derby outsiders land in the first four and pay for the rest of your afternoon.
Of the trio, A Taste Of Glory brings the Balding‑outsider narrative, Alderman carries the Mojo Star déjà vu for Hannon and Julie Wood, and Poker is the £4.3m colt with something to prove at a price that borders on cheeky.
For serious punters, they may remain only marginal plays, but for a small‑stakes racing fan, all three make perfectly reasonable “why not?” each‑way bets in a race that has made a habit of giving the little tickets the biggest stories.
BETFRED
