John Silvertand didn?t even realise until afterwards that his beloved horse was actually leading in the closing stages of the Kentucky Derby.

Afleet Alex, bred by the former Burrows Lightbourn sales manager and organiser of the Bermuda Hockey Festival, briefly led the 131st edition of the multi-million dollar race before succumbing to two surprise steeds in Giacomo and Closing Argument.

For Silvertand, who has been suffering from the ravages of cancer for years, it was an emotional day and an exciting finish.

?We were in the owner?s box up on the third tier and we couldn?t really see properly,? said the former Bermuda resident turned Florida horse breeder on his drive back home from Kentucky.

?It looked like they were neck and neck from where we were, and then the others came through.

?It was very tight. I spoke to Jeremy (Rose, Afleet?s jockey) afterwards and he said the horse had moved towards the rail after a whip where the track wasn?t as good.

?If we had stayed in the middle I think we could have won it.

?There was also a lot of bumping early on, he said, and that took a lot of wind out of him.?

But the nature of the race, that saw two rank outsiders take the top places, means Silvertand is confident ahead of the next big races on the US summer circuit.

?I think he should be a favourite for the Preakness Stakes,? continued the 60-year-old.

?Our horse was the only one of the big names to really perform in the Derby and that should put us in a good position for the race in two weeks.

?I hope to go out to the Preakness but I am under doctor?s orders, so we will have to see. But all things remaining equal I will go.

?The doctor will probably let me have a sip or two of champagne, but I certainly won?t be swallowing the whole bottle.?

Silvertand, a former RAF pilot, added that another highlight of his trip to the Kentucky race was a chance to meet the Governor of Nevada and his wife.

?The first lady is setting up a fund to raise money for cancer patients and we are going to use a picture of my daughter with Alex when he was just 24 hours old for the poster campaign.

?Any interest and awareness that we can raise is very important.?