THE victories of Shaamit in the Epsom Derby on Saturday and Sil Sila in the Prix de Diane, French Oaks yesterday proved once again that racing is in the grasp of the ordinary person - it is obviously not necessary to be a Henry Cecil or Andre Fabre to succeed.

Shaamit, one of 42 trained by William Haggas - a son-in-law of Lester Piggott - repelled the big race favourite Dushyantor from the near 200 strong string of Cecil to win at the first attempt for his Newmarket handler.

At Chantilly, Sil Sila, from the 28-horse team of ex-jump jockey Bryan Smart, performed an even more amazing feat to hold Miss Tahiti, representing Fabre, whose stables hold 228.

Haggas is likely to have a flood of inquiries from prospective owners after emulating Saeed Bin Suroor by producing Shaamit to win the Derby on his first run of the season despite a sequence of injury interruptions.

Though the success again had a Dubai connection - owner-breeder Khalifa Dasmal prints the racecards at Nad Al Sheba - the addition of a new name to the roll-of-honour board was a welcome boost for the event.

On Friday Lady Carla had maintained the familiar balance of power when claiming a nine-lengths victory for Cecil, Pat Eddery and the Syrian millionaire Wafic Said in the Oaks. The same combination won the 1000 Guineas with Bosra Sham.

Just as Alex Greaves, who became the first woman to ride in the Derby when finishing last on Portuguese Lil, hopes to return to Epsom next year, the victory of Shaamit, under first-time winner Michael Hills, will encourage other equally less established trainers to aim for the top.

By the end of the month the hard work the course executive put in to establish the Derby as a major sporting event on a Saturday may have been for nothing. Officials must now debate whether to stick to the Saturday or switch the race back to the traditional Wednesday slot after just two years trials.