Franklins Gardens is guaranteed to have at least 12,000 and more voices cheering him on at Epsom on Saturday as the combined volume of the Saints supporters club gets into voice at 4pm.

For the Mark Tompkins-trained colt is named after the home ground of Northampton Rugby Club, who had another fine season this year, finishing third in the Premiership and qualifying for a tilt at taking on the best European teams in the Heineken Cup.

And the owner of the Vodafone Derby runner is Maggie Barwell, the wife of the club's chairman Keith Barwell - the man credited by Saints fans as the inspiration for a recent revival in their fortunes.

Local businessman Barwell purchased a controlling share in the club for £1million in 1995 and has invested heavily since then to bring in some of the game's leading names.

Indeed the local supporters refer to the pair as 'Uncle Keith' and 'Auntie Maggie', which reflects the philanthropic regard in which they are held.

It was in 2000 that Northampton enjoyed arguably their greatest moment under Barwell's direction when the team reached the Tetley's Bitter Cup Final, and although they lost, they returned to Twickenham two weeks later and won the first major trophy in the club's 120-year history, when they beat Munster 9-8 in the European Cup Final.

"Although I don't know much about racing, I know that we will all be cheering for Franklins Gardens on Saturday," said a spokeswoman at the club.

"I'm not sure of any of the players will be able to make it as some of them will be on tour with their national sides now but I am sure that everyone will want to know how he gets on."

Despite having a personal wealth estimated at £60million in the Sunday Times Rich List, Barwell only has two horses in training and paid just £310 to enter the horse for the race at the yearling stage.

The colt was sold privately to Mark Tompkins at the 2001 Tattersalls October Yearling Sales, after taking the fancy of his wife, Angie.

The winner of a small maiden race at Ayr as a two-year-old, Franklins Gardens was then put away for the season and was next seen out on a racecourse when winning the Weatherbys Blue Riband Trial Stakes at Epsom in April, proving his suitability for the unique demands of the track.

He then completed his preparation for the world's most famous race by lining up in the Bet Attheraces Derby Trial at Lingfield Park the following month, when he showed he had continued to progress by putting up a battling performance to defeat Let Me Try Again by half a length.

"We know he handles the track at Epsom and there will be nothing trying harder than him - he is a real fighter," says Tompkins.

"It will be great for the owners to have a runner and we'll give it a go. He is improving all the time and you never know.

"When you pay a small amount of money like £310 to enter a horse in the Derby, you are just buying into a dream."

And as well all know, dreams can come true.