Strength of family gave Burke a resolve to rise again

He is so close to the gallop that he can hear his head lad Shaun Johnson – the man lucky enough to ride Yorkshire’s Derby contender each morning – say these gentle words of encouragement to his laid-back colt: “Good boy, good boy.”

Burke pauses as the 33-1 winner of York’s Betfred Dante Stakes last month heads into the distance. “It’s the smoothest I’ve seen him do a bit of work to be honest,” he tells me. “If he’s in this form on Derby day, I’ll be happy.”

As Johnson walks Libertarian back to the Spigot Lodge stables named after 1821 St Leger winner Jack Spigot, and from where the 1849 Epsom Derby winner The Flying Dutchman was trained, he becomes even more animated.

Not only did the horse win the Dante, the most illustrious Derby trial, with surprising ease, but he believes Libertarian has improved since the York race.

“He’s a big, lazy horse at home, but as soon as I pulled him out...” said Johnson during his debrief back at the Burke yard nestled between Leyburn and West Witton. He did not complete the sentence – his broad smile spoke volumes.

“He’s as fit as a butcher’s dog,” replies Burke. “Yes,” said Johnson.

The crucial build-up to today’s Investec Derby, where Libertarian is the leading British contender against a strong Irish, French and German challenge, is new territory to Burke and his wife Elaine – it is their first ever runner in Flat racing’s most celebrated contest.

It is a story that becomes even more remarkable when one considers that Libertarian did not race as a two-year-old because of his immaturity – and his owner Hubert Strecker, a Danish entrepreneur, had to be persuaded to stump up a supplementary Derby entry, costing £8,000, after the horse excelled during a racecourse gallop on the Southwell all-weather in the depths of winter.

And it takes on an even greater dimension when the Burke back-story is added to the script. The son of an Irish-born publican, who grew up in a Rugby pub, he was banned from racing for a year in 2009 for passing on inside information to disqualified punter Miles Rodgers.

Burke, 50, is philosophical. “In many ways, it has made Elaine and myself better trainers. When racing, it’s like being on a hamster wheel. More runners. More wins. More disappointments. But you can handle the lows much better.”

The upheaval was considerable. Because Burke was banned from all premises licensed by the British Horseracing Authority, he could not even live in his own home – part of the Spigot Lodge yard. The strain on his wife, and their daughters Lucy and Kelly who ride out each day, was traumatic.

Burke’s father-in-law, the respected trainer Alan Jarvis, helped oversee the remaining horses which were then sent to other yards so Burke could return to the family home.

The legacy was a yard that had enjoyed Grade One success with Lord Shanakill prior to the ban, had just 20 horses when Elaine Burke applied for a training licence three years ago.

If Libertarian wins, she will be the first female trainer on the Epsom Derby’s 233-year roll of honour. “We’ll just wait and see,” she says.

For, while her name will be printed in the Epsom racecard today, and on every form guide, it is her husband who is winning his personal race to redemption thanks to horses like Libertarian.

Up at 5.30am, Sky News is on in his office – mainly to check the weather – before changing the bandages on a horse’s leg.

The work is unglamorous, even more so on another day when Wensleydale woke to rain clouds, and there’s no hint that this is the yard which could provide Yorkshire with its first winner at the Epsom Derby since Pretender in 1869, though Dante did land the 1945 wartime renewal at Newmarket.

“The biggest thing about the ban is that it put us back to zero,” said Burke. “I wanted to pull stumps, and sell everything, but Elaine was determined to hang in there. I’m glad she did. We might not be here now.

“We were down to 20 horses, but every owner bar one has come back and we’ve done well to build it back up to 60 horses.

“I’m not here to make excuses. I broke the rules. I shouldn’t have had any contact (with Miles Rodgers), but I did. The rules on inside information were new, and not very clear and I got caught up in the melee.

“If there is any grievance, it is that it took five years for the matter to be investigated and for the ban to be imposed. Did I think back then that I’d have a leading contender for the Derby within three years? No. But that’s racing...”

While Burke’s wife and daughters are part of the team riding out on Tuesday morning, their husband father is watching proceedings from his car.

As each horses passes, he inspects their legs carefully and then talks to each rider. His manner is calm, and the instructions precise. A happy yard, he says, means relaxed horses.

And then Libertarian, a strapping colt standing at 16.3 hands, emerges from the gloom, oblivious to mounting excitement surrounding his Derby bid. “He’s very lethargic in his work,” says Burke, almost trying to play down expectations.

A strapping horse, one of dozens being worked shortly after 7am, history is also on the side of Libertarian who was sired by the 2008 Derby hero New Approach.

Commander in Chief did not race as a two-year-old then won the Derby in 1993 after landing a warm-up race on Dante day at York.

“I first saw Libertarian at the Newmarket breeze-up sales last year,” said Burke.

“We liked him but we didn’t think we would get him, but we were helped that he did the slowest time when he galloped. Lars Kelp bought him for £40,000 for Hubert who has always wanted to have a Derby runner. Yet it was only when we took him to Southwell with a 100-plus rated miler that the Derby dream began.

“He won at Pontefract and then Sandown when things did not go to plan. We knew he was better than the fourth-place finish so we went for the Dante. Hubert’s father had horses in Scandinavia that were ridden by Walter Buick; that’s why we were keen to get Walter’s lad William to ride him in the Dante.”

The one concern is that Libertarian might not handle the climb up Tattenham Hill before the rapid descent and turn for home on an uneven course, though a recent downhill gallop at Middleham eased Burke’s fears.

There are significant other plusses – a relatively small field, rain-softened ground and stamina doubts about the race’s main pretenders.

Yet Karl Burke is looking to the future – and his eyes light up at the mention of the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster in September when Libertarian should be in his prime. “This is only just the beginning of his career,” he says. “The Derby comes very early in the season for three-year-olds. I honestly think that the best is still to come.”

They are also words that apply to Karl Burke as he wins his own race to redemption.