HORSE RACING: Marcus Tregoning saw his charge Sir Percy win a thrilling Vodafone Derby after getting caught speeding on the way to Epsom.

Tregoning, pictured, was pulled over for speeding by a policeman but after narrowly avoiding a ticket and a fine, the Lambourn-based handler completed the rest of the journey without incident before picking up the biggest prize of them all in Flat racing.

"I was thinking about the race so much that I wasn't thinking about what I was doing and took a couple of wrong turns. I had to put my foot on it after that and got pulled over as a result," he said.

"I was lucky I didn't get a ticket but we got there and got the job done, thank goodness.

"We were all wound up for the full day and had a really nice party with all the staff and had a really good night.

"I'm a bit worse for wear now but it was definitely worth it."

Sir Percy collared Dragon Dancer in a thrilling finish to the Epsom Classic, which saw the first four horses home separated by just half a length.

Sir Percy is reported to be none the worse for his short-head success despite an early-morning scare and could take on the older horses in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on October 1.

"It was a rough race but I'm amazed by him," said Tregoning, who was assistant to the late Dick Hern when he won the Derby with Nashwan in 1989.

"He's a street-fighter and a warrior and it is quite extraordinary how he fights like he does.

"We thought he wasn't quite sound behind this morning but, through our bleary eyes, we found he'd only spread a hind shoe.

"He's actually fine, lost very little weight and had eaten up his food by 9pm last night - he's in good shape.

"I think we'll probably go and stick to a mile and a half for the time being, with the Irish Derby a possibility.

"The other thing would be the Champion Stakes at Newmarket (October 14) or maybe even a crack at the Arc."

Tregoning initially felt Sir Percy, runner-up to George Washington in the English 2000 Guineas on his penultimate outing, had finished second.

"I must say it was so close and such a rush to the line I thought maybe we'd been beaten by Hala Bek," he added.