KRIS Kin landed one of the biggest on-course Derby gambles when, backed from 14-1 down to 6-1, he swooped late to give rider Kieren Fallon a second success in the premier classic and trainer Sir Michael Stoute a third.

Supplemented into the race at a cost of £90,000 to owner Saeed Suhail, Kris Kin survived some scrimmaging at the top of the hill before scything through the field to overhaul The Great Gatsby and Alamshar in the final 200 yards. Norse Dancer stayed on from an impossible position to finish a gallant fourth.

Stoute is going through a wonderful run of winning form, but victory in the richest race ever run in Europe is, even by his high standards, something out of the ordinary.

The trainer admitted afterwards that he could not have been happier with Kris Kin's preparation for the Derby, revealing that the colt is a lazy individual who reserves his best for the racecourse. The way he suddenly picked up under that distinctive Fallon drive reminded me of Troy mowing down his foes to land the 1979 Derby.

Whether Kris Kin can show himself to be in Troy's league is debatable, but we will learn a lot more when he takes on the likes of Dalakhani in the Irish Derby at The Curragh, a race also on the agenda for Alamshar.

Stoute said that he had fancied his charge for Epsom ever since his clear-cut victory in the Dee Stakes at Chester. He observed: "I didn't think the Dee route was a low-key operation and this horse has kept surprising me because he's one of the laziest I've ever trained. Kieren got off him the week before the Dee because the horse showed him nothing in a gallop at home.

"Like so many good horses he's an athlete who is incredibly relaxed in the stable yard but who lights up on the racecourse. I did think this was one of the greatest Derby rides."

Fallon said he had to overcome traffic problems during the race and commented: "At the top of the hill, at the section where horses drawn high cross over, it was very rough - just like it was in the Oaks - but Kris Kin was man enough to hold his position. I knew when I dug deep he would answer me."

Stoute admitted that Kris Kin had taken a lame step two days before the race but that, after having the joint wrapped in an ice pack, he was sound an hour later without any sign of heat. He said he felt the solid support for the colt was down to the Fallon factor.

Favourite Refuse To Bend never looked like repeating his 2,000 Guineas triumph and looked a non-stayer, while Brian Boru could never get competitive at any stage. The Great Gatsby benefited from a vintage Pat Eddery ride but was just not good enough when the chips were down.

In Friday's Vodafone Oaks the victory of Casual Look capped a memorable day for first-season trainer Andrew Balding as she formed the middle leg of a magnificent treble for his Park House Stables.