HE has trained more than 1,200 winners and won more than £1m in prize money, but when he slips the saddle onto Mickdaam this afternoon, Richard Fahey admits he will have butterflies in his stomach.

The North Yorkshire trainer has almost two decades of experience under his belt and, in recent seasons, has established himself among the country's elite.

But there has always been a glaring omission from his CV. Despite training some of the best flat horses in the north, Fahey has never had a runner in the Derby. Until now.

When Mickdaam served notice of his ability with a gritty success in last month's Group 3 Chester Vase, there was only one logical place to take him.

Epsom Downs. A venue that represents the pinnacle of the sport and offers Fahey the opportunity to realise a dream that looked unattainable when he first rented a 17-box yard off Peter Easterby 19 years ago.

"It's not bad, is it," said Fahey, who now trains around 160 horses at his Musley Bank base in Malton. "A little northern lad like me having a runner in the Derby.

"We've never had one good enough for a Derby before. It'll be a great day. I'm looking forward to it. We're going there hoping for the very best and I think he will run a very respectable race."

Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa al Maktoum, Mickdaam broke his maiden at the third attempt at York last October.

He wintered in Dubai under the care of South African trainer Mike de Kock, and claimed a valuable race at Meydan before finishing a creditable fourth in the UAE Derby.

His Chester Vase victory suggested his career trajectory was still on an upward curve, and while today's ground will be much quicker than the quagmire he ploughed through at Chester, odds of around 33-1 look inviting.

With only nine horses lining up for the supreme test of a three-year-old, Mickdaam's each-way prospects have to be considered.

"Camelot deserves to be odds on," said Fahey. "He did well to win the (2,000) Guineas and will be very hard to beat in the Derby. "But he (Mickdaam) stays well, which is a big thing, and he's very tough, which is another.

"Although it was very soft ground when he won at Chester last month, I've never thought of him as being a soft-ground horse. It'll be beautiful ground at Epsom and I'm sure he'll be fine on it."

As well as marking Fahey's Derby debut, this afternoon also represents Paul Hanagan's first outing in British flat racing's blue riband.

The two-time champion jockey headed south at the start of the season to become the retained rider of Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum.

However, with his principal employer not having a Derby entry, he is free to resume his partnership with Mickdaam, having claimed yet another winner for Fahey on board Tamareen at Haydock last weekend.

"I'm made up," said Hanagan. "My first ride in the Derby, I can't wait. And it's great for Richard as well."